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July 18, 2007

Local

Dear Locals:

I’ve been getting a number of E-mails recently about national and international political issues, with some peripheral reference to DC. I’ve turned these down for publication in themail, because this forum is for discussion of local issues, and national and international debates are out of bounds. One submitter objected to my rejection of his message about the Bush administration. He pointed out that the latest issue of themail contained my note about Pittsburgh and another message about Chicago, and asked how those were local. Here’s what I wrote him: “The difference is that both Pittsburgh and Chicago were brought up as comparisons to DC. It’s perfectly fine to write in themail about things other cities are doing that DC should (or shouldn’t) or could (or couldn’t) do. That is really, in the end, about DC. But just as I kept debate over Clinton and the Clinton administration out of themail, I keep debate over Bush and the Bush administration out. There are plenty of other arenas in which to engage in those fights. When the federal government does something that has an impact directly and specifically on DC, then themail is the proper place to write about Congress, the President, or the Supreme Court. When Congress considers or amends DC’s budget, when the President signs or vetoes the bill to give DC’s delegate a floor vote in Congress, when the Supreme Court rules on or refuses to take DC’s appeal of the gun ban, that’s the time to write about the federal government. But don’t use themail to say that you love or hate the President; use it to say whether you love or hate the mayor.” Or are indifferent; that’s okay, too.

I have to admit, though, that I’m not always consistent. Another rule, practically the only other rule, about submissions to themail is that they should be kept short, and that messages of one or two paragraphs are preferable. I’ve scrapped that rule entirely for the first two submissions below, because they are both public resolutions about a very important issue — the city council’s passage on July 11 of an “emergency” resolution (http://www.dcwatch.com/council17/17-xxx.htm) to dispose of the West End Library, a fire station, and a police office to a developer favored by the mayor and some councilmembers. This ill-advised action has three major faults: it disposes of public property that is needed for, being used for, and perfectly well suited for public purposes; it disposes of that property to a politically connected developer through a no-bid process and under terms that are highly favorable to that developer; and it was passed through a process designed to shut the public out, and indeed to eliminate the possibility of the public’s knowing in advance that it was going to be done. Dirty business, and we should talk at length about it.

Gary Imhoff
themail@dcwatch.com

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ANC2B Resolution for the Stewardship of Public Property, June 11, 2007
Dave Mallof, mallof@verizon.net

Whereas public property includes all property in the inventory of the District of Columbia, operated and maintained through taxpayer dollars, such as schools, libraries, parks, government buildings, and all properties under the jurisdiction of any DC government entity, and

Whereas public property in the District of Columbia exists to serve community needs and uses, and

Whereas numerous community needs persist to which vacant or under-used public property should be dedicated, and

Whereas the residents of the District of Columbia entrust the District government with the management and stewardship of public properties, in service of the community, and

Whereas the District of Columbia government has established a pattern of disposing of public property to private development interests;

Therefore be it resolved that ANC2B calls for the mayor, city council and all relevant agencies carry out the following: 1) an immediate moratorium on the disposition of public property; 2) a complete inventory of public property (as required by law), made available and accessible to the community; 3) amendment of DC’s public property laws to preserve public property for public use, instituting a transparent, community driven input process to identify new public uses for vacant or under-used public property; 4) maintaining valuable public assets and protecting the long-term needs of DC communities by leasing, not selling public property and retaining the right to reclaim those properties leased to private entities when the need arises; 5) before any action is taken to change the use of any public property, Advisory Neighborhood Commissions shall be consulted for their “great weight” approval and public hearings must be held to inform and to seek input from residents.

[This resolution was also sent to themail by Sharon Rohner, sharonrohner@yahoo.com.]

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Federation of Citizens Associations Resolution on Square 37 Land Disposal, June 17, 2007
Ann Loikow, aloikow@verizon.net

Whereas the Federation of Citizens Associations of the District of Columbia (Federation), which represents its fifty member associations, believes that public facilities and property, such as fire and police stations, public libraries, schools, recreation centers, parks and similar facilities and property, are essential to the health and well being of the citizens of the District of Columbia and to the economic vitality of the city; and

Whereas good planning requires assessments of future estimates on potential future public facility needs, size and potential consolidation of these public facilities by required site area, size, and location in the city as a whole and by neighborhood; and

Whereas Washington, DC, is a planned city and part of that planning included the acquisition, whether through purchase or from the Federal Government, land for schools, libraries, parks, streets and other government facilities that is strategically located throughout the city; and

Whereas such facilities and property are public properties in which the citizens and taxpayers of the District of Columbia have a direct and substantial financial investment and interest; and

Whereas no public property or facility should be disposed of without an in-depth planning process including the development of a master facilities plan, capital budget and detailed guidelines and controls covering all aspects of the disposition process; detailed plans for the continued provision of the services provided by such facilities to the neighborhoods and residents and comprehensive assessments of future needs, and full and well noticed public hearings in the affected community and before the Council authorizes such disposition; and

Whereas it is prudent to reserve public lands where possible to avoid diminishing public facility assets and the reservoir of public lands because these resources may be needed in the future for public purposes, including public facility expansion or consolidation;

Whereas because the disposition of such public properties and facilities requires in-depth analysis, consultation with affected communities and agencies that ensures the continued provision of the affected public services to the affected communities, it should never be approved on an “emergency” basis; and

Whereas the Federation is very concerned that the process used in this case may have citywide implications, set precedents and possibly subject the District of Columbia to significant financial damage claims if the proposal needs revision:

Now, therefore, be it resolved that the Federation strongly urges that the mayor not sign or approve any Land Disposition Agreement, make any further commitments, or take any further action with regard to Resolution 17-393, the “Square 37 Excess Property Disposition Emergency Approval Resolution of 2007,” passed by the District of Columbia Council (Council) on July 10, 2007, regarding the disposition of the West End Library, Fire Station #1 and the Metropolitan Police Department Special Operations Division Station; and urges the mayor to immediately request that the Council: (1) immediately and specifically rescind the grant for any development rights for such public properties; and (2) properly notice and conduct public hearings on the proposed disposition of such existing public facilities and the plans for replacing them; and

Be it further resolved that the mayor and the council disclose all relevant financial analyses, facilities plans and detailed and specific reasons why these public facilities need to be rebuilt rather than refurbished, including the analyses required by law under DC Code §10-801(b-1) prepared by the mayor of the economic factors that were considered in proposing the disposition of the real property, including, when appropriate the chosen method of disposition, and how competition was maximized; and that any resolution or legislation of the council regarding the disposition of such public facilities should direct the mayor, after consultation with the affected agencies, communities, and advisory neighborhood commissions to solicit in a transparent manner competitive bids for the properties to be sold and for the construction of replacement facilities; and

Be it further resolved that before any further disposition of District government property and facilities, the council should direct the mayor to complete and publicly publish the full inventory of all such property and facilities as required by law in DC Code §10-807; develop a comprehensive Master Facilities Plan and capital budget for all such property and facilities as required by DC Code §10-1031; constitute the Master Facility Planning and Program Coordination Advisory Committee as required by law in DC Code §10-1031; and develop detailed procedures and guidelines for the disposition of such property and facilities; and

Be it further resolved that the Mayor disclose any and all legal opinions or analyses from the Office of the Attorney General or the Office of the General Counsel concerning the emergency nature of the resolution or its legality under DC law;

Be it further resolved that the Federation’ president or his designee is authorized to revise this resolution as appropriate and transmit it to the mayor and council.

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Say No to Nats’ Honky-Tonk Ballpark Sign
Ed Delaney, profeddel@yahoo.com

Nationals’ general manager Jim Bowden revealed on WTEM on July 17 that the new ballpark will display the word “Nationals” with lighted red letters eighteen feet high on the ballpark’s southern façade, which is part of the southern gateway into Washington’s downtown area that preservationists have long sought to improve and protect. Bowden added that the lettering will be visible from planes coming into and leaving Reagan National Airport. While so many are being affected by the current part of the Douglass bridge lowering — purportedly done as an aesthetic “improvement” for the benefit of the west side of the ballpark -- it’s inconceivable that Las Vegas-like lettering that will be visible for miles is being considered for one of the most important gateways into the nation’s capital. The city has given up enough revenue and sweetheart perks to Major League Baseball and the Nationals ownership; the giveaway needs to stop when these private interests plan to use crass marketing like this thoughtlessly, in a way that could significantly erode the stately and carefully preserved skyline at the southern end of the downtown area that needs to feature national monuments and landmarks rather than a private monopoly hocking its product with neon-like tawdriness. Act now, or get ready for more of the same, until DC’s skyline resembles Atlantic City more closely than a nation’s capital.

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Tinted Windows
Erik S. Gaull, esq25@columbia.edu

DC law allows the after-factory application of window tinting in motor vehicles (DC Official Code §50-2207.02), provided the following requirements are met: 1) there must be at least 70 percent light transmittance through the front windshield or front side windows; and 2) there must be at least 50 percent light transmittance through the rear windshield or rear side windows. However, less than 70 percent light transmittance is allowed in the windshield above the AS-1 line or within five inches from the top of the windshield.

The reason the District prohibits after-market tinting of windows in excess of these limits is that tinted windows pose a danger to police officers effecting traffic stops because they impair the officers’ ability to see inside the car and know what the occupants are doing. DC Municipal Regulations do not prohibit factory-installed window tinting -- just aftermarket. People with medical conditions requiring protection from bright sunlight or artificial light may request a waiver of the rule from the Department of Motor Vehicles. Information is available at: http://dmv.dc.gov/serv/medical/tintingMedicalWaivers.shtm.

All the rules of the road are available to the public in Title 18 of the DC Municipal Regulations. There should be a hardcopy set available in the central (MLK, Jr.) public library and at some branch libraries. Unfortunately, Title 18 is not yet available online. By the way, the assumption in DC is no different from that in any other state (no, we’re not going to get into that debate here) in the union — when motorists are licensed to drive they are assumed to know all of the applicable rules of the road.

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Tinted Windows
Mary Bloodworth, mbloodworth@speakeasy.net

Regarding automobile window tint, from the web site (I had to search for “tint”; couldn’t find it within DMV’s section): there must be at least 70 percent light transmittance through the front windshield or front side windows; and there must be at least 50 percent light transmittance through the rear windshield or rear side windows. You can get a waiver for this with a doctor’s signature at http://dmv.dc.gov/pdf/Vehicle_Tint_Waiver_Request.pdf.

However, be prepared to be stopped by police and possibly ticketed by parking enforcement folks, and I would suggest having this waiver handy every time you get your car inspected. This is not from personal experience, except years of experience with the fun of city services.

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CLASSIFIEDS — EVENTS

DC Public Library Events, July 21
Randi Blank, randi.blank@dc.gov

Saturday, July 21, 11:00 a.m., Juanita E. Thornton/Shepherd Park Neighborhood Library, 7420 Georgia Avenue, NW. Upper Georgia Gateway Festival. Enjoy fun, food and activities for all ages. For more information, call 541-6100.

Saturday, July 21, 1:00 p.m., Cleveland Park Neighborhood Library, 3310 Connecticut Avenue, first Floor Auditorium. Joy R. Butler, author of The Permission Seeker’ s Guide Through the Legal Jungle: Clearing Copyrights, Trademarks, and Other Rights for Entertainment and Media Productions, will speak about “Intellectual Property and Licensing: How to Avoid Being Sued.” A book sale and signing will follow. This event is co-sponsored by Capital PC User Group Entrepreneurs and Consultants SIG. For more information, call 282-3080.

Saturday, July 21, 2:00 p.m., Tenley Interim Library, 4200 Wisconsin Avenue, Suite 117. The Five Wishes: Advance Directives and End of Life Issues. The Five Wishes is a program designed to assist adults in making medical, emotional, physical, and spiritual decisions regarding end of life issues. Upon completing the "Five Wishes" booklet participants will have a legally recognized living will valid in forty states, including Washington, DC, Maryland, and Virginia. The Five Wishes booklet will be provided free to the first thirty participants. This workshop will be led by Jonathan White, LGSW, an oncology social worker in the Washington, DC, area who works with hospital inpatients with advanced cancer. This program is supported by the Friends of the Tenley-Friendship Library. For more information, call 244-3507.

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Intellectual Property and Licensing, July 21
Barbara Conn, bconn@cpcug.org

At this author talk and book signing, entertainment, intellectual property, and business attorney Joy R. Butler will discuss the legal jungle of getting proper permissions to use and license all matter of intellectual property, a topic of interest to media producers, including writers, publishers, filmmakers, musicians, composers, songwriters, visual artists, and web site and software developers. Every creative person eventually faces questions concerning the permissible use of other people’s material. The material might be a quotation, real-life event, image, celebrity name, song, or other material protected by copyright or similar laws. These are rights clearance issues, and no media producers — not writers, filmmakers, musicians, visual artists, programmers, Web site designers, nor creative gurus — are immune from them.

Speaker Joy Butler is the author of The Permission Seeker’s Guide Through the Legal Jungle: Clearing Copyrights, Trademarks and Other Rights for Entertainment and Media Productions. During her presentation, she will explain how to spot rights clearance problems and provide guidance on what you need to do before you incorporate other people’s material into your books, web sites, artwork, films, and other media productions. If you have a sticky copyright or licensing issue, or even just a question, come to this event for helpful information. The event concludes with a book sale and signing, courtesy of the Trover Shop. A portion of the proceeds will go to the Friends of the Cleveland Park Library.

Gather your colleagues, family members, friends, neighbors, and the other creatives in your life, and bring them to this Saturday, July 21, 1:00 p.m., gathering of the Capital PC User Group (CPCUG) Entrepreneurs and Consultants Special Interest Group (E&C SIG). This month’s event is cosponsored and hosted by the Cleveland Park Branch of the DC Public Library, 3310 Connecticut Avenue, NW (between Macomb and Newark Streets), in the first floor large meeting room in Washington, DC, just over a block south of the Cleveland Park Metrorail Station on the Red Line. For more information about the presentation, the speaker, the book, and CPCUG (a 501(c)(3) nonprofit educational organization), visit http://entrepreneur.cpcug.org/707meet.html. To RSVP, send E-mail to Bconn@cpcug.org.

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