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November 11, 2007

Credit

Dear Creditors:

This is just an observation. I’m not naming anybody, although I’m sure there are several people who will think I’m writing about them. There’s a familiar saying that has been quoted in many different ways and attributed to several people, including at least two American presidents. “There is no limit to what a man can do or how far he can go if he doesn’t mind who gets the credit,” is the version that is linked to Robert Woodruff, the longtime president of the Coca-Cola company. It’s a wise saying, with a lot of truth to it. If your purpose is to accomplish something, spending your time and energy fighting for credit for it is counterproductive. But it’s not a saying that appeals to many people in our city’s political life.

Politicians here spend most of their time claiming credit for things they haven’t done and have no intention of doing. They’ll make a terrific speech setting out an honorable and principled position on an issue, just before voting the other way, and then expect to be praised for the high-minded sentiments in their speech. Everybody knows the ward councilmember who demands that anyone in the ward who runs any worthy public program or does anything worthwhile for a community give all the credit and obsequious praise to the councilmember, or the councilmember will obstruct the program and prevent anything from being done.

Let me propose the obverse to the saying that may or may not have originated with Woodruff: “There is a limit to what a city can do, if its politicians mind most of all who gets the credit.”

Gary Imhoff
themail@dcwatch.com

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Governing by Press Conference
Dorothy Brizill, dorothy@dcwatch.com

On Tuesday morning, Mayor Fenty is scheduled to hold an event that is described as a “Nationals Ballpark Sod Press Conference.” At the press conference, Fenty will announce and celebrate the laying of sod at the new Nationals ballpark.

Anyone who has followed Fenty, both as councilmember and as mayor, knows that he is addicted to press attention and that his work week often consists of an endless series of press conferences and photo availabilities. He will often have a press conference when there isn’t anything really significant to announce. For example, in September he held a press conference that was billed as an announcement that the District was “partnering with Google, Inc.” At the press conference, it turned out that the only news was that the District’s web site, dc.gov, would use Google’s search technology, something that tens of thousands of web sites, including DCWatch.com, have used for years. Also in September, Fenty insisted on having multiple press conferences at Condon Terrace following the death of DeOnte Rawlings, although his remarks threatened to impede a police investigation and inflame a community. Just the past week, on the Wednesday morning prior to the US attorney’s press conference announcing the Office of Tax and Revenue public corruption case, Fenty held a press conference at the Metropolitan Police Department headquarters to announce a “new crime fighting initiative.” The new initiative turned out to be simply an announcement that new computers were being installed in some patrol cars.

It is against this background that it should be noted how unusually silent Fenty has been since news of the OTR corruption case broke. Even the Washington Post, reliably supportive of Fenty, took notice of his surprisingly low profile in an article today by reporter Nikita Stewart, http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/11/10/AR2007111001675.html.

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Cheh: Coming Soon, UWACS II?
Frank Winstead, Forest Hills, frank.winstead@gmail.com

At the Thursday, November 8, meeting of ANC 3E, a reading was performed of Councilmember Mary Cheh’s letter to the mayor calling for rescinding permits at the Commerce Bank site on Wisconsin Avenue. It was an accurate rendition of previously stated concerns by the residents and the ANC, except for the last paragraph of the two-page letter. Cheh’s brief original content calls for a “small area plan” for Tenleytown. After her designee finished the reading, Cheh explained that in regards to the original Upper Wisconsin Avenue Corridor Study (UWACS) residents should “forget about that.” Twice she voiced the ambiguous phrase "get beyond height and density" to the assembled community. She claimed that her goal, as stated in her letter, was for more input from local residents and businesses. No mention was made of ANCs. But, when someone from the audience expressed a desire for mom and pop retail as opposed to chain operations, Cheh responded, “don’t worry about the details.”

The strangest moment was when Cheh stated her need for one of those memory erasers from a movie with a title she could not recall. An audience member identified the movie as Men in Black. Does Mary Cheh’s rapacity compel her to use mind-altering techniques on her constituents just so she can recycle the unwanted UWACS for all of Tenleytown?

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Bidding on a Government Contract
Jonathan Rees and James Carter, jrrees2006@verizon.net

When contractors, developers, and the like submit bids to the Government of the District of Columbia to do various jobs like the remodeling of our schools, how do taxpayers know that the company that got the contract offered the best bid, had the best reputation for quality work and more, and was not a friend of the mayor or a city council member who is being repaid for campaign support with a contract?

We don’t know. The fact is, taxpayers are pretty much kept in the dark on the bidding process for government contracts. The Government of the District of Columbia, as a part of its web site, should create a section where all of us can see what projects are up for bid, who made a bid, and who got the contract, and also be able to weigh in on any contract up for bid in order to avoid another West End, Jack Evans, Joe Sternlieb, and EastBanc sham on the taxpayers.

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DC Republican Committee on Tax and Revenue Case
Robert Kabel, DC Republican Chair, press@dcgop.com

When you have two city employees from the District’s Office of Tax and Revenue who alledgedly were so brazen in their corruption scheme as to have bought a 2005 Benty and spent over $1.4 million dollars from Neiman Marcus, the bottom line is the citizens of DC have to police their public officials. Ward 2 Council Member Jack Evans, chairman of the finance and revenue committee, said he and Council Chairman Vincent Gray will hold oversight hearings. This is a start but not a solution. Reform must take place and the first step is to set up an independent office with subpoena power to root out waste, fraud, frills and abuse within DC government.

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Can’t Say No to Chancellor Rhee
Leo Hendricks, leohendricks@pol.net

In Wednesday’s Northwest Current (November 7, http://www.currentnewspapers.com/admin/uploadfiles/1-181.pdf, page 5), it was reported that Chancellor Rhee, speaking at a Washington Rotary Club meeting, said Mayor Fenty told his cabinet members: “No one is allowed to say no to the chancellor except me. . . . If I hear that someone is standing in the way of progress, that person’s job would be at risk.”

Mayor Fenty repeated his statement, Rhee said, when he learned that some high-level city officials were turning down her requests.

Question: save for maybe Mr. Nickles, who else in Mayor Fenty’s administration has this privilege? Where is it all this going? Oh, by the way, what is the latest on Mr. Nickles moving to the District?

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Adios Natwar
Ed T. Barron, edtb1@macdotcom

Gandhi, the Chief Financial Officer in DC, has acknowledged that the “buck stops here” after the revelation that his Tax and Revenue Office employees have been raiding the till. Then Gandhi fired his top managers in the Tax and Revenue Office for not watching out for abuses of the rules. Well, the buck should not stop in the Tax and Revenue Office. Gandhi should politely resign his office because he is ultimately responsible for the criminal behavior of those who work for him. This is just another good reason the council should give the school superintendent, Rhee, the authority to fire incompetent personnel in the DCPS.

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Corruption at the Office of Tax and Revenue
Richard Sundberg, rsundberg@dbmove.com

I think this sort of thing (most likely smaller in scale) will continue until DC purchases a comprehensive MIS system. There is no reason why this cannot be done. It would flag these problems early. Or maybe that is why there is not much appetite for one.

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Who Is Responsible?
Julius W. Hobson, Jr., julius.hobson@verizon.net

Re: introduction to themail, November 7: You forgot the city auditors. Every year they gave the city a clean bill of health. What did we pay them for?

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New York Taxi Meters Versus DC’s Zones
Gabe Goldberg, gabe at gabegold dot com

Pretty funny, a suggestion for New York to use DC’s zone system as a model. From http://www.nytimes.com/2007/11/04/nyregion/thecity/04traf.html: “In the wake of Mayor Bloomberg’s proposal to calm Manhattan traffic through a plan called congestion pricing, the City section asked its readers to offer their own solutions for easing the borough’s traffic woes. More than a hundred responded, proposing ideas ranging from the wonky to the off-the-wall. Ban cabs. Ban private cars. Close streets. Add lanes.”

The article includes this suggestion, with remarks by two NYC traffic experts: “Allow cabs to pick up more than one fare at a time, using "zone" charges rather than meters for such trips, the way they do in cities like Washington. This might encourage more people to leave their cars home. — Rita Tobin, Chappaqua, NY.

“Dr. Falcocchio: This plan would have little effect on reducing the number of private cars on the street. Most taxi drivers concentrate their business in Manhattan, while most trips made by private cars start outside Manhattan.

“Mr. Zupan: Not bad. It’s done at the airports and should be tried at high-use taxi locations like Penn Station and the Port Authority Bus Terminal.”

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The Jesse Baltimore House
Michael T. Patric, AIA, mtpatric@mac.com

I am writing about the plight of the Jesse Baltimore House in the Palisades. It would appear that the District’s deadline for submissions to relocate the this house has come and gone and now things appear to be moving down the path of demolition. I think this is a terrible waste of energy and an unfitting end for this historic home. But there is another option. There are people who would be willing to take ownership of this house and raise the funds necessary to restore it to its original condition. I am one of these people. It pains me that a house like this sits vacant and deteriorating in a vibrant neighborhood such as the Palisades.

My wife and I dream of raising a family in an urban environment where children are able to walk to school, to the park, and to friends’ houses. We are capable of raising a large sum of money for a mortgage (or renovations in this case), but still it is not enough to buy a home in a family friendly neighborhood like the Palisades. In fact, we are priced right out of the District. As an architect, I also dream of owning a home with historic characteristics like those of the Jesse Baltimore House. Houses of this nature do not exist in the outlying suburbs where we will be forced to move. In fact, homes like this are just not built anymore. In addition, the attention to detail in assembly that Mr. Baltimore gave his own house is likely well beyond that given to homes built more recently.

The District does not seem to be terribly interested in turning a huge profit on this house. Why not sell it to someone in need of affordable housing and who has the knowledge and desire to take on a massive renovation such as this? No doubt the tax revenue gained from a new owner taking possession of the house would be far more beneficial to the District than the added expenditures required to actually maintain the site. From where I sit, the benefits of restoring this house far outweigh those of tearing it down and losing it forever.

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Fate of E-Mails
Le Eckles, e929@peoplepc.com

For a longtime ANC commissioner the only thing more exhausting than walking only a few blocks and seeing and hearing twenty issues you should go home and call downtown about is reading themail, where the mega issues are sure to come up with all the pertinent documents, references, etc., so concisely that a person really doesn’t have any excuse not to expend some effort immediately in assaulting whatever wrong is spelled out.

I can’t tell you, then, the pleasure it was to know via themail that Fenty has rescinded that daft, but potentially very damaging, E-mail destruction authorization, and I can only surmise that mechanisms like DCWatch had a big role to play in that reconsideration. All of us with privacy and freedom of information issues on our mind need to be grateful.

While we are suffused with that good news, could we look into why various DC government entities, without notice to callers, automatically trace and do caller ID on all incoming calls? This applies to calls to the mayor’s command center (727-1000), right down to unexpectedly small sites like the receptionist desk at the DC auditors. I thought there had to be a rational need to know in order for government agencies to assemble information. A rational reasons, for instance, would be that an incoming call to an emergency response number would be identified in case the person is cut off and otherwise unable to complete the call. Since the information is acquired at public expense, is there a public right to know how it is assembled and/or utilized?

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Sweet Charity
Bill Coe, bceedeec@aol.com

It’s fair to say the Washington Nationals were politically tone-deaf in selecting venues for their FanFest and annual Dream Gala (this latter a charitable event). DC is footing the bill for the Nats’ new stadium, so they owe their business primarily to our community. In fairness and our own self-interest, however, it’s worth noting that much of the team’s fan base is located in suburban Maryland and Virginia. It works in DC’s favor to encourage attendance at games by folks from those two states -- whose money would, for a change, go into our coffers when they enter the city. If the Nats can persuade a few more spendthrift Virginians and Marylanders to patronize our stores and vendors on game days by holding promotional events in those neighborhoods, then maybe we should give Kasten and Company a chance to do so.

As for the charity event, the Dream Gala: It was held in past years at a DC hotel, which charged the team a hefty price for the use of their services and facilities. There’s nothing wrong with this. It’s my understanding, though, that this year’s Gala managed to book Gaylord’s new hotel (at National Harbor in PG County) free of charge. By thus reducing the Gala’s overhead, the Nationals presumably can net more money for their charitable activities, many of which serve DC’s young people. This strikes me as a no-brainer, both for us and them.

My only question is whether the Nats looked at all for a pro bono arrangement to hold their Dream Gala here in town, before taking their business across the river. Surely someone in DC’s government or business sector might have helped them find such a deal. If Kasten and Company did seek such terms here and had no luck, then it’s small wonder they accepted an offer which yields the best return on their charitable efforts.

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When You’ve Got to Tell the World about a Book You Like
Richard Layman, rlaymandc@yahoo.com

Many years ago the marketing director job for DC Public Libraries was open, and I thought about applying but I chickened out. In the process of preparing, I came up with an idea that I am surprised escapes Mr. Shapiro [themail, November 7]. Library system catalogs (software platforms) can be reconceptualized along the same lines as a bookselling database like Amazon.com. In other words, set it up so that within book listings, patrons can post reviews, list their favorite books on various topics, even have some digital space (I suppose it would have to be monitored somehow) for publicly displayed work relating to printed, aural, and visual media.

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CLASSIFIEDS — EVENTS

Ward 5 Democrats Presidential Debate Party, November 11
Hazel Bland Thomas, thomashazelb@aol.com

Join Councilmember Harry Thomas, Jr., Ward 5 Democrats President Timothy Thomas, and the members of the Ward 5 Democrats for a Democratic presidential candidate debate watch party at the Love Club located at 1350 Okie Street, NE, from 8 to 11 p.m. on Thursday, November 15. Everyone is invited to come out, watch the debate and participate in a straw poll. Light buffet and cash bar. Donation: $20.00.

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Dominic Moulden on a Community Vision for Ward Five, November 17
Dorinda White, dorindaw@aol.com

Premier Community Development Corporation presents Dominic Moulden, executive director of One DC and Premier Community Development Corporation, in a discussion on creating a community vision. All neighbors, residents, stakeholders, and Ward Five business owners are invited to attend. Saturday, November 17, 10:00 a.m.-12:00 p.m. at Mount Calvary Family Live Community Center, 650 Rhode Island Avenue, NE. For more information, call 252-7232 or E-mail premiercdc@yahoo.com.

This will be a discussion about our vision for our communities in Ward Five, including an overview of the ward’s history, demographics, economics, politics, and organizations.

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CLASSIFIEDS — DONATIONS

Neighbors of Seaton Place
Cleopatra Jones, neighborsseaton@yahoo.com

Kindly share this information with all coworkers, friends, and family who are employed with the DC government and the federal government. Neighbors of Seaton Place, Inc, is a part of both the Combined Federal Campaign, CFC #27496, and the DC One Fund, #9573 National Capitol Area.

The goal of Neighbors of Seaton Place is to elevate all young people as stakeholders; engage youth, adults, and community in a positive bond built through educational experiences and exposure to relevant and effective programs and practices; and inspire teens to participate in enriching networking opportunities. For more information, go to http://www.seatonplacedc.org.

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