themail.gif (3487 bytes)

July 8, 2007

Emergencies

Dear Emergency Responders:

A longtime employee of the city council called on Friday to ask whether we knew that at Tuesday’s legislative session the city council is going to be voting on forty-one pieces of emergency legislation. Forty-one different bills and resolutions that sell off District property; confirm crucial appointments to critical departments, agencies, and boards; approve the fiscal year 2008 budget support act and the library procurement act, and so on. For almost all of these bills, there is no real reason to pass them through an emergency legislative procedure. The bills don’t address true emergencies. Instead, in many instances the council is abusing its emergency legislation procedure to avoid holding public hearings with adequate public notice, to avoid alerting citizens to its actions until after they are taken.

In fact, for several of these bills, no written legislation has been made available to the public or even to members of the council, and no written legislation will be made available to councilmembers until Monday afternoon or to the public until a week or more after the legislative session. Councilmembers will be voting blind for legislation that many will have never read or even seen. There have been complaints in past council periods that the council abused emergency legislation in order to bypass proper legislative procedures, but it has never before been done in such a wholesale fashion. This overuse and abuse of emergency legislation signals an emergency for the people — a breakdown of the legislative process, a breakdown of good government, a massive failure of respect by elected officials for the citizens of the District.

Gary Imhoff
themail@dcwatch.com

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

DC Throws Good Government to the Wind to Sell Public Property
David J. Mallof, mallof@verizon.net

About a month ago, the Economic Development Committee tried to sell three pieces of public property that were not yet formally approved as "surplus" by the Government Operations Committee and the full DC Council. So the Economic Development Committee withdrew and regrouped after being informed the properties were not formally “surplussed.” (Did anyone in DC Government formally ask the neighborhoods, their ANCs, and their civic/citizens associations to provide input and insight about other potential public uses that might preclude sale to private parties?)

With short public notice, a combined public roundtable then was hastily convened the day after the Fourth of July holiday by Ms. Schwartz’s Government Operations Committee and Mr. Brown’s Economic Development Committee, in order to advance these three parcels to the full DC Council for a single, final vote this Tuesday — without two separate and sequential public hearings and without adequate time to air the points in the Agreement of Purchase and Sale for the public to see and understand.

At least in one case, a property on Barnaby Road is being sold without an open public bidding process that could yield the best price for the city. In order to move the process along without open bidding, one group made seemingly laudable yet significantly varying verbal representations that it would provide "affordable housing," but its verbal promises were significantly different from the much looser written guarantees that were supposedly in the Agreement for Purchase and Sale. This Agreement was not made available by the Office of Property Management in advance of the hearing. The matter is now slated to be approved by the council by Public Resolution 17-323 (http://www.dccouncil.washington.dc.us/images/00001/20070622101908.pdf) on Tuesday. This favoritism toward particular developers, rapid pace of hearings without adequate public notice, lack of public input, and lack of full disclosure is now typical of council actions in DC. I suspect the council will vote to approve the public resolution on Tuesday, without asking for written guarantees that are consistent with the verbal promises, and without allowing the public to have the opportunity for full, open review and comment in two properly sequenced public hearings. I think the public is fed up with all this, really.

In this case, there is another interested bidder: me. I informed the committees on Friday afternoon that I am willing to put down $50,000 as earnest money to enter an auction for the 47,500 square feet of land supposedly appraised at $430,000 (I believe few people have seen the appraisal.) Of course, if the verbal representations that provide for really affordable housing are inserted to correct the “mistaken” language in the nonpublic Agreement for Purchase and Sale, then I have less of a problem with there being no auction in this case. Therefore, until the public can see real guarantees on affordable housing consistent with the verbal testimony, I will await receipt a bidders information packet and instructions from the Office of Property Management on where to send my deposit to enter the auction. Will the Committees demand that the deal match the promises, and defer to the public to comment on the real deal as well?

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

A Week at the Beach for Mayor Fenty
Dorothy Brizill, dorothy@dcwatch.com

Whether it is because of Mayor Tony Williams’ frequent junkets or because he wants his aides to feel they’re not supposed to have any free time, Adrian Fenty is sensitive about the suggestion that he may ever take a vacation. Last Tuesday, I became aware that Mayor Fenty was vacationing at the beach, but it was never announced on his public schedule. Instead, day by day last week, his schedule simply noted that he wasn’t attending any public events.

To get official confirmation that Fenty was on vacation, on Tuesday, July 3, I sent an E-mail to the mayor’s press secretary, Carrie Brooks: “Mayor Fenty’s vacation hasn’t been officially announced, but I understand that he is at the beach. Can you reveal where he is vacationing and when he will return?” I didn’t get a reply that day, but on July 4 I got this reply: “The Mayor is in town and will be attending the Palisades July 4th parade today.” That wasn’t quite responsive to my question, so I sent a more detailed question on the evening of the Fourth: “I know that he was in town Monday morning prior to Michelle Rhee’s confirmation hearing, and that he was in town for the Palisades parade. Other than that, has he been and will he be out of town and at the beach? If so, where?” I didn’t get any reply on July 5 or during the day on July 6, so on the evening of the sixth I resent that question, prefacing it with, “Carrie, I haven’t received a reply to this, so I’m resending it in case you didn’t receive it the first time.” A minute later, I got the honest answer: “The Mayor spent a few days this week in Rehoboth Beach with his family.”

I have some professional advice for Mayor Fenty’s press office. Be honest and forthcoming. If you’ll try to mislead and deceive us about an innocent thing like the mayor’s taking a few days at the beach during a hot summer week, how can we trust you to tell us the straight story about anything controversial? Moreover, by the time most people in the press come to the mayor’s office with a question, we already know the answer and are simply trying to confirm it. Lying to us, or being evasive with us, doesn’t help you or the mayor.

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

Strange Things Are Happening
Ed T. Barron, edtb1@macdotcom

There’s some demolition going on at the Tenley-Friendship Library. A contractor is working there and tearing up the inside of the old building. Glad to see something happening there, but I am wondering just what the final objective is. Is there a real plan in effect for this building? I have not heard of any agreement between the city and any contractor regarding renovation of the old building and adding dwellings above the library. Will there be an agreement that also helps add to and renovate Janney School? What’s happening?

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

Boosting Literacy Using Free Software
Phil Shapiro, pshapiro@his.com

Many adults and youth in our city have needs to increase their literacy. Are there ways of doing so using free software, creating multimedia that is distributed for free via the Internet Archive, which provides free web hosting? Yes, there are. To show how this is possible, here’s a narrated Flash slide show I created this weekend. The story in this slide show is a children’s story I wrote a few years ago. Adults would enjoy reading this short story, too. See http://tinyurl.com/2m3zve

I created this freely distributable multimedia using some free Windows software called PowerBullet. PowerBullet is easier to use than PowerPoint and creates Flash files, viewable on just about any computer on the planet — including many donated Windows 95, 98, and 2000 computers — as well as Macintosh and Linux computers. A friendly note about viewing the above multimedia. To progress through the multimedia use the small red arrows at the bottom of the screen. The arrow pointing to the right only appears after the narration for the screen you’re viewing has come to an end. You can navigate back through the story, too, using the left arrow. The above example uses some fiction, but PowerBullet would work equally well distributing narrated nonfiction.

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

My Experience With a Mayflower Madam
Ed T. Barron, edtb1@macdotcom

It was in the winter of 1986-1987, just before relocating to DC, that I was in my room at the Mayflower Hotel watching Sunday Night Football. There was a knock on the door and, sure that it was my business associate, I answered the door in my pajamas. It certainly was not my business partner but rather a tall, attractive, well-endowed, and well-decked out young woman. She addressed me by my full name and inquired if she could spend the evening in my room. She did not look like an avid football fan, so I declined with the excuse that I had an early meeting the next day at NASA.

Convinced that I had been set up by my business partner, I confronted him at breakfast the next morning. Though my pal has a sense of humor, he is not inclined to practical jokes, and he convincingly assured me that he had not played any part in the event. He went with me to the front desk to inquire how anyone could have obtained my name and room number. The front desk supervisor could not, or would not, offer any real explanation. I sent a letter to the hotel manager later that week but did not get any response or explanation. In retrospect, I should have sent a copy of the letter to the Washington Post. Though, some twenty years earlier, it may be likely that hotels offering dalliances between consenting heterosexual adults was not a newsworthy event.

It will be interesting now that the judge has ruled that the DC Madam owns her phone records and lists and can do what she wants with them. I see two things happening. First, there will be a rush to the local phone companies to change phone numbers. Secondly, there will be a lot of straining and groaning as many men await the inevitable phone call requesting a sizable, "voluntary" donation to the DC Mayflower Madam’s defense fund. I won’t be getting a call.

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

Corrections
Gary Imhoff, themail@dcwatch.com

An important correction to Dorothy’s message in the last issue of themail (July 4) was sent by Ted Gest, tgest@sas.upenn.edu. The quote, “Where do I go to get my reputation back?” was said by Ray Donovan, Secretary of Labor in the Reagan administration, not by John Volpe, Secretary of Transportation in the Nixon Administration. Donovan and his codefendents were acquitted of all charges at trial, and Donovan supposedly said this immediately after his trial. However, according to Wikipedia, this is one of the many famous quotations that have been improved on retelling. Wikipedia, citing Joe Klein’s book, The Natural, gives the quote as: “Which office do I go to to get my reputation back?” By the way, I think I’m on the track of the actual origin of “no good deed goes unpunished,” which we tried to trace a few years ago in themail. I’ll let you know when I know more.)

A second correction, to my message in the July 4 issue: the correct spelling is Cardozo High School.

A third correction: the Ward 5 Democrats have sent an addition to their announcement of the election of officers in the June 1 issue: Robert Brannum was elected to the Assistant Recording Secretary position.

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

CLASSIFIEDS — EVENTS

DC Public Library Events
Randi Blank, randi.blank@dc.gov

Thursday, July 12, 10:00 a.m., Martin Luther King, Jr., Memorial Library, 901 G Street, NW, Enhanced Business Information Center (e-BIC), A-level, e-BIC Conference Center. The Business Planning Process. Learn the steps you need to take to start a business in DC. This class is free and cosponsored by DC’s Small Business Development Center. For more information, call 727-2241.

Thursday, July 12, 11:00 a.m., Martin Luther King, Jr., Memorial Library, 901 G Street, NW, Room 215. Talking Book Club. Members of the DC Regional Library adult book club will discuss a talking book. For more information, call Adaptive Services at 727-2142.

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

Ward 4 Democrats Elections, July 10
Erwin C. Miller, ecm.jazz@comcast.net

In keeping with our bylaws, at our July meeting the Ward 4 Democrats will elect the following officers for two-year terms: president, first vice president, second vice president, recording secretary, corresponding secretary, treasurer, and financial secretary. The election will be held on Tuesday, July 10, at 7:00 p.m. sharp, at the Fourth District Police Precinct, 6001 Georgia Avenue, NW, community room.

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

National Building Museum Events, July 11, 14
Lauren Searl, lsearl@nbm.org

Wednesday, July 11, 12:30-1:30 p.m. Home builders in major markets are attracting buyers with net-zero-energy homes (ZEH), which bring their owners comfort, style, and value by incorporating integrated photovoltaic and solar-thermal systems, properly designed heating and cooling equipment, efficient building envelopes, and high-performance appliances. Powerful whole-house systems are capable of cutting energy bills by up to 70 percent, and ultimately reaching ZEH performance. These homes help eliminate energy shortages and rolling blackouts, and reduce carbon emissions — and can even send power back to the utility grid. Michael Baechler, program manager of Pacific Northwest National Laboratory, will provide a brief introduction to state-of-the-art photovoltaic and solar-thermal building practices, and will discuss the lessons learned from successful building projects around the country -- touching on building design, materials selection, mounting techniques, business plans, and marketing opportunities. Free. Registration not required.

Saturday, July 14, 9:30 a.m.-12:30 p.m. Educator workshop: Designing Our World: Teaching Students the Design Process. Join Museum educators for a hands-on teacher workshop about the design process. What is it? How can you use it in your classroom? The workshop will offer educators an opportunity to learn by doing, as they explore the new David Macaulay: The Art of Drawing Architecture exhibition and learn strategies for incorporating the multidisciplinary design process and drawing into existing curricula. The workshop will include: hands-on activities for classroom use, a curator-led tour of the new David Macaulay exhibition, lesson plans, resource lists, and a chance to brainstorm ideas and lessons for your specific needs. $20. Prepaid registration required. 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.

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

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)