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September 9, 2007

Celebrity

Dear Celebrities in Your Own Right:

Dorothy and I had dinner with a distinguished member of Congress and his wife tonight. Well, to be exact, we had our hamburgers at the table next to theirs at Five Guys. Part of the fun of living in Washington is celebrity watching, if your definition of celebrity is flexible enough to include politicians, lawyers, and lobbyists. It’s something like living in Los Angeles, where you can enjoy recognizing your real estate agent as the guy who played the second henchman in a favorite episode of a twenty-year-old cop show, or realizing that the drunk being thrown out of the nightclub is the younger brother of that thirty-year-old actor who’s still playing a teenager in a series on the CW Channel. My favorite overheard line, when Dorothy and I visited Los Angeles as few years ago, was, “I can’t believe she gave him a four million dollar contract, and he’s only a writer.” Tonight, the distinguished member and his wife didn’t say anything worth passing on, and of course Dorothy and I are much too discreet to repeat anything that we may have heard.

Even though politics is the business of this company town, our gossip columns rarely cover our local celebrities with the relish with which they cover temporary visitors from Hollywood. Have you had any brushes with celebrity or notoriety in this town, and overhead anything amusing enough to overcome your natural tendency toward discretion? If so, would you share?

Gary Imhoff
themail@dcwatch.com

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Made the Top Ten
Ed T Barron, edtb1@macdotcom

Washington, DC, made the list of the top ten speed trap cities in the US [http://www.motorists.org/pressreleases/home/top-speed-traps-usa-may-2007/]. The list is based on an analysis by the National Motorists Association of postings to the association’s web site. We’re only number eight at this writing. With a little effort, a few more cameras, and a few more postings, we might get into the top five.

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DC Gun Control
Harold Foster, Petworth, incanato@earthlink.net

A couple of inquiries have been posted here about the city’s rationale in appealing the recent court ruling that overturned the 1976 DC Gun Control Act. As someone who tried to get this law overturned when it was first passed, I can only comment somewhat anecdotally that I doubt that the city’s rationale now is much different from its logically flawed rationale back then. You might call it the radioactive uranium argument: an otherwise law-biding citizen automatically becomes a potential menace to society simply by coming in contact with a handgun, much as you or I automatically become less healthy after too much exposure to, well, uranium or some other ionizing radioactive substance. That has always had to be the logic underlying this law and similar gun restrictions elsewhere, because enforcing this kind of universal ban means otherwise law-biding citizens have no way to purge themselves of this presumption of either criminality or criminally negligent behavior just by owning a handgun. In other words, my possessing a handgun in DC makes me, or someone who can get hold of a handgun I possess, an inherent greater danger to civil, law-biding society here.

Now. Going into the debates on the 1976 law, those of us who opposed this law, almost all of whom were and are black, by the way) kept asking the obvious question. How many legally purchased, registered, and owned handguns in DC had been involved in crimes or accidents that resulted in harm, or loss of life or property? It turned out that, in the period from 1959 through 1974, the answer was one, and that handgun had been stolen during a home invasion and burglary. Our argument then, as now, therefore was, why would an entire city of law biding citizens be permanently disabled where the option of legally keeping a handgun in the city was concerned? And this, to us anyway, was the most pressing rebuttal of this law, irrespective of how you feel about the second amendment.

Going by what I keep hearing from the mayor and the DC attorney general, the reply to this appears now, as then, to be that handguns are inherently dangerous enough that citizens should be protected from them. Much as radioactive substances are inherently dangerous enough that the state (DC government in this case) is constitutionally entitled to restrict or forbid the average citizen from possessing or having them. I am no lawyer but I understand this is called an irrebuttable or irrefutable presumption since the subject of such a presumption can do nothing (legal) to remove the presumption. There are, in other words, no remedies to this presumption. No waiting period before being allowed to legally own a handgun. No intensive background checks or certifications that one is not mentally unstable or otherwise a danger to himself, herself, or society in general. Not even a clean bill of civil health from the police after they have observed you and concluded that you are not, or would not be, a greater danger to society with a handgun than you would be without one. (That last procedure is used in a handful of European and one or two Latin American countries.) You are stuck with the prohibition because of what you want to own, not who or what you are, period. And it is that irrebuttable presumption that is the heart of this law — and not the more tenuous back-and-forth we keep hearing about the Second Amendment. And the city government’s failure to prove, on past evidence, that owning a handgun in and of itself justifies such a sweeping and severe restriction that, to me anyway, always made this law unconstitutional.

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Reform’s Faulty Premises
William Jordan, whj@melanet.com

As a parent with children in DC Public Schools, I am very concerned with the faulty and/or untested premises that seem to be the basis for the current reform priorities being initiated by Chancellor Rhee and Mayor Fenty. As we are aware, faulty premises generally lead to faulty conclusions and faulty actions along the way, something our children cannot afford. So, instead of wasting time relearning the lessons of Hans Christian Andersen’s “The Emperors New Suit” (http://hca.gilead.org.il/emperor.html), let’s take a look at a few of these faulty and untested premises before too much energy is spent in areas that will not likely yield the results that we need in a timely manner. While these premises may have a grain of truth, they are not worthy of being key elements of reform and require refinement.

Premise 1. The purpose and priority for reorganized schools governance structure is school system reform. This is clearly faulty, or we have been misled. The purpose and priority of the governance change should be to accelerate improving the academic performance and citizen-building experience of our students, especially for those students who are currently underperforming in these areas. I’m not sure how under Rhee/Fenty we got on the track of reform for reform’s sake. The current focus seems to prioritize reforming the central administration over improving student performance and experience.

Premise 2. The DC Public School System has failed all its students academically. If we use standardized test scores as a key measure of success and failure, the reality is that DCPS is failing black, brown, low- and moderate-income students; white students in DCPS actually have some of the highest test scores in the nation. This gets at my concern with the performance of the Chancellor and mayor to this point. To date they have not addressed this contradiction openly and clearly, which may lead to reforms that entrench rather than address this issue. The purpose of reform must be focusing energy immediately into strategies that directly improve the academic and citizen-building experiences of black and brown children. One reform we know that works with this particular population is an extended school day. However, Rhee/Fenty have spent the summer taking anecdotal pot shots at the central administration, pursuing good press, and securing political support from those least interested in taking on this contradiction. This leads us to faulty premise 3.

Premise 3. An improved and reformed central administration will lead to significantly better outcomes. The question that must be asked is whether reforming central administrations been shown to have significant and immediate positive impacts on the performance of low- and moderate-income black and brown students. In New York City, which is the model for Rhee/Fenty, an initial Google search yields little hard data, but descriptions indicate that after some years NYC has begun to yield moderate success among the black and brown demographic most relevant to DC. A review of test scores from DC Charter Schools as a whole reveals little difference for these subgroups between Charter Schools and regular DC Public Schools. DC Charter Schools have no central administration, union contracts, etc., which are the current priorities of the reform effort. Clearly, these priorities have questionable efficacy on student performance. “Reform” has taken on a life of its own, and has become more important than the students and families whom reform is supposed to support.

I still believe that the mayor and Chancellor are sincere and willing to initiate worthy reform priorities; however, having little experience, they have lost sight of the purposes of and logic behind reform. For the sake of our young people, it’s best to speak up now and find ways to help get efforts refocused, before parading down the street naked. If reform becomes more important than students we may end as in the Hans Christian Andersen story. We must set aside our other agendas and help Rhee and Fenty help us to succeed.

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DC Schools from 2500 Miles Away
Star Lawrence, jkellaw@aol.com

Eleven years ago, I moved my going-on-junior high kid from DC to the Phoenix area, in part because I could not afford more parochial school at the upper levels. She went to Eaton until fifth grade, where she worked from mimeographed sheets and they did not teach the multiplication tables. When she transferred to Catholic school, she started smoking at age twelve, I learned later. This is part her, part the schools, obviously. Arizona was not the greatest alternative. A lot of the youngsters run afoul of the system here. Maybe even more than in DC — it’s commonplace. She did get interested in interior design in her senior year and worked briefly under a school program for a local designer. Then this sort of petered out. The kids are not inspired, and it’s darned annoying! Yes, it’s partly their own fault, as I said. But I write for Edutopia, the magazine put out by the George Lucas Foundation. They constantly have interesting articles on innovative things schools are doing. I also like the PEN Report — you can get it via E-mail, visit http://www.publiceducation.org/subscribe.asp. Can’t we do something? These kids deserve better than angry, crying parents without a scrap of hope!

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How Many Times Must We Say . . .
Samuel Jordan, samunomas@msn.com

Wake Up! Wake Up! The house is on fire?" In emergency situations, we want to have to shout those words only once. During my campaign for member of DC council for Ward 7, I shared with the ward and city residents within reach of my elaborate communications apparatus a serialized tale of the growing marginalization of African-American communities in Washington, DC, particularly the African-American labor force. African-American communities are facing a higher rate of displacement as a consequence of economic development, compared to others. To wit: the Gateway Project on East Capitol Street near Southern Avenue. However, the African-American worker stands almost helpless as the bottom falls out of the entry-level, low-wage, nonprofessional, and service employment sectors. For illustration, I used the example of the Sizzling Express restaurant network. (Representatives of the five establishments bearing that name insist they are independently owned.) I related how the Capitol Hill Association of Merchants and Professionals (CHAMPS) turned a deaf ear to my pleas when I urged them to examine the hiring practices of Sizzling Express at 600 Pennsylvania Avenue, SE, and at 4th and M Streets, SE (Navy Yard). Other Sizzlings are located at 15th and K Streets, NW, Connecticut and M, and on Virginia Avenue in Foggy Bottom. Not one African-American employee among them.

Well, I can report the following update: a) none of the Sizzling Express restaurants employs an African-American, although a team of volunteer witnesses, trained to report their findings, found that African-Americans account for thirty to seventy percent of the restaurants’ customer base at various hours during the business week. b) Mariam, the Tanzanian, who was hired in April at the Capitol Hill location, after the third week of picket and protest by my campaign team, has gone again to resume her studies. She was the first person of African descent hired in two years after being hired for the first time following our initial protest in 2003. That’s right; twice we protested, twice they hired a continental African instead of a member of the African-American communities that pay their bills. c) Not one business, civic or political leader in Washington, DC, has taken up the overarching issue at the base of my complaints: Not only are African-American workers facing increased marginalization, but an untold number of city employers have enacted a policy of deliberately refusing to hire African-Americans. Two young African-Americans on our team, who sought employment at the Navy Yard restaurant, were not even given employment applications. (See http://www.JordanWard7.org/action.php.)

The policy instituted by these discriminating employers underscores another potentially explosive problem: the employer-manipulated tension between the African-American and immigrant communities in competition for jobs, housing, schools, and public services. When African-American job-seekers from Wards 7 and 8, cross the Anacostia River, our own Rio Grande, in the often-humiliating hunt for work, they are not aware that they have encountered employers who as a matter of policy don’t hire black people. No political, business, or community leadership has responded to my warning. So, like a responsible citizen, I’ll try once more, “Wake Up! Wake Up! The house is on fire!”

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The Real Unemployment Figure in DC
Jonathan R. Rees, jrrees2006@verizon.net

The real unemployment figure in DC is 9 percent, not what the DC Dept. of Employment Services would have you believe. The official unemployment figure only counts people who are currently receiving unemployment compensation from the DC Department of Employment Services; it does not count: 1) people looking for work for the first time; 2) people who did not qualify for unemployment compensation after losing their last job; 3) people whose unemployment compensation benefits expired; or 4) people locked into an under employed position. I have argued this deliberate misrepresentation made by DC DOES with its general counsel Eugene Irvin, who does not deny my allegations; but, then again, he isn’t admitting to them either.

The stark reality about the DC employment picture is that it takes people, on average, between nine to twelve months to find a job that fits their skills — or they can flip hamburgers until that distant ship sails in. While DC boasts about being the new Mecca for college graduates, these college graduates who are flocking to DC are not finding jobs in their intended area of study or skills, as there are too many college graduates and not enough jobs to accommodate them. Sadly, DC DOES has a very poor track record of luring jobs into DC, its job database often is months out of date, and it has been reduced to nothing more than an agency that keeps employment statistics and administers everything employment-wise, except for finding real jobs for people.

During the first six months of the Fenty administration, the job market has gotten worse for college graduates and skilled tradesmen. This is because the Fenty administration’s goals do not include luring new jobs into DC or helping newly arrived residents with talents to find work. If the trend continues, the real unemployment and underemployment in the District will rise.

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Billboards
Si Kailian, Mount Vernon Square, niello8@yahoo.com

I don’t have a major problem with billboards in general. Some of the ads I do find interesting and attractive. What bothers me is when a billboard is mounted on a vacant property or lot and the owner then gets to profit from the revenue while letting the land or building rot. For example, the grand old mansion on the corner of 11th and K Streets, has a giant billboard bolted to the crumbling structure which has sat vacant and overrun by trash and vagrants for years. All the while earning thousands of dollars per week with no incentive at all to maintain or renovate the property. This particular site is owned by Jemal, who just bought the now closed AVs Restaurant. Which also has a billboard.

Here is the list [of the thirty-two “special sign” permits] with old photos: http://dcra.dc.gov/dcra/cwp/view,a,1342,q,599840,dcraNav_GID,1691,dcraNav,|33420|.asp. There is a law that prohibits advertising on vacant property, but for some reason these billboards are excepted. Why?

[Please note that if a billboard in DC does not have one of the thirty-two special sign permits, and is not on this list, it is illegal, and should be reported to DCRA. — Gary Imhoff]

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Charter Schools
Henry Townsend, henrytow@gmail.com

Re: Gina Arlotto, “Charters and the Public Schools,” themail, September 5] And every last one of these charter schools’ students are there by choice, either the student’s or that of their parents. And every last one of these schools’ students had a guaranteed admission to their local school, which they rejected.

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CLASSIFIEDS — EVENTS

National Building Museum Events, September 10
Lauren Searl, lsearl@nbm.org

Monday, September 10, 12:30-1:30 p.m., Designing the Nation’s Capital: the 1901 Plan for Washington, DC. The US Commission of Fine Arts has recently published Designing the Nation’s Capital: The 1901 Plan for Washington, DC, a collection of essays related to what is commonly known as the “McMillan Plan.” The seven essays by leading scholars provide valuable historical context and examine the lesser-known features of this wide-ranging plan that has guided Washington’s development for the past century. Coeditor Pamela Scott, a local architectural historian, will join several of the contributing authors for a discussion of their discoveries and insights concerning this important part of Washington’s planning history. Free. Registration not required. At the National Building Museum, 401 F Street, NW, Judiciary Square stop, Metro Red Line.

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Battle of Monocacy, September 12
Anne Eigeman, sullivane2@earthlink.net

Wednesday, September 12, 6:30-8:00 p.m. Historian and author Marc Leepson will speak about his new book, Desperate Engagement: How A Little-Known Civil War Battle Saved Washington, DC, And Changed American History. The book chronicles the Battle of Monocacy and Confederate General Jubal A. Early’s subsequent attack on Ft. Stevens in 1864, in which President Lincoln came under fire. Leepson shows that the prospect of Early’s attack on Washington, DC, led General Grant to move thousands of Union troops to the area and caused Union leaders to scramble to coordinate a force of local volunteers. The event is free and open to the public. Reservations are requested to RSVP@historydc.org (subject line: “Early”).

The Historical Society of Washington, DC, http://www.historydc.org, is at the Carnegie Library, located at 801 K Street, NW, and can be accessed by the Mount Vernon Square/Convention Center Metro Station. Phone 383-1800.

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DC Public Library Events, September 12-13
Randi Blank, randi.blank@dc.gov

Wednesday, September 12, 12:00 p.m., Juanita E. Thornton/Shepherd Park Neighborhood Library, 7420 Georgia Avenue, NW. Join the Shepherd Park Wednesday Afternoon Book Club for a PowerPoint presentation and book discussion of Legacy: Treasures of Black History. The discussion and presentation will led by the editors, Dr. Thomas Battle and Donna Wells. A book signing will follow. 541-6100.

Thursday, September 13, 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.

Thursday, September 13, 6:30 p.m., Martin Luther King, Jr., Memorial Library, 901 G Street, NW, Great Hall. Help adults get their GED or learn to read! The Adult Literacy Resource Center of the DC Public Library presents a volunteer fair to learn about tutoring and teaching opportunities with adult literacy providers. This event is cosponsored by DC Learns. Be sure to register by September 10. To register, call the Adult Literacy Resource Center at (202) 727-2431 or the Read Out Loud Hotline at 1-866-READ-OUT.

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Cleveland Park Meeting, September 15
George Idelson, g.idelson@verizon.net

Is there an answer to one-size-fits-all zoning? As DC enters an era of rezoning stemming from the new Comprehensive Plan, residents want to know: “Can a Neighborhood Control its Own Destiny?” DC’s recently appointed Office of Planning Director, Harriet Tregoning, will be the featured speaker at the Saturday, September 15, meeting of the Cleveland Park Citizens Association: A panel of prominent zoning advocates, including Nancy MacWood, Barbara Zartman, and Thorn McGrath will lead the question period. The meeting takes place at the Cleveland Park Library starting at 10:15 a.m. All welcome.

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CLASSIFIEDS — SERVICES

ShipShape
Andrea Sexton, awyatt20003@aol.com

If you’ve been using TV trays since you moved in because you can’t find the table and you hyperventilate when friends hint about visiting; if your file folders are bulging with bills, letters, and manuscripts and you can’t decide what to keep and what to junk, don’t despair. I will bring order to your chaos. No mess too embarrassing! Reasonable fees by the hour ($25 an hour; four-hour minimum) or job. Paperwork a specialty. Call ShipShape at 240-606-4400 for a free telephone consultation. Our service is private and confidential.

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