Thanksgiving
Dear Givers:
Thanks to you for subscribing to, reading, and contributing your
messages to themail.
I’d like to remind you that the slow periods for themail are
midsummer and around the holidays, late November through December. If
you have something you want share with other readers of themail,
anything that you want to write about life in Washington -- not just the
politics that I obsess over, but things that are going on in your
neighborhoods, experiences that you enjoyed or things that annoyed you
-- the next few weeks are a good opportunity
Your fellow themail subscribers and I look forward to hearing from
you.
Gary Imhoff
themail@dcwatch.com
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Getting Out of Hand
Jim Champagne, remyjec@aol.com
I have noticed that others beside myself have tried in vain to get
city government to do at least one thing right regarding the imperious
and cavalier “temporary eminent domain” actions of downtown
developers. And he we go again: Jersey barriers have been erected on the
west side of 19th Street, NW, just above M Street, effectively closing
off a full lane on one of the busiest streets in DC. The developers who
are upgrading the office building on the corner have even closed off the
alley between 19th and 20 Streets, which is clearly illegal, and have
closed another full lane to traffic around the corner on M Street
between 19th and 20th. And I see no DC government signs indicating that
the developer has a license to do all this or has paid legally for the
privilege.
Isn’t there anything that can be done? Shame on Jack Evans,
would-be mayor Fenty, and all his cronies in the supposedly open bull
pen. Let’s start a movement to end this very unneighborly, illegal
behavior.
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The Truth Will Set You Free
Frank Winstead, Forest Hills, frank.winstead@gmail.com
At the November 16 city council roundtable on the Office of Tax and
Revenue scandal, Councilmember Mary Cheh challenged Chief Financial
Officer Natwar Gandhi to explain this debacle. Mary Cheh’s legal
background served her well. She has law degrees from Rutgers University
and Harvard Law School. She has served as a Special Assistant US
Attorney. Cheh is a former consultant to the National Institute of
Justice and the President’s Commission on Organized Crime, and has
been admitted to practice law in DC, New Jersey, Massachusetts, and
before the federal courts. Cheh is a constitutional law professor at
George Washington University Law School. She has authored a book on
reading financial statements. United States Supreme Court Justice Ruth
Bader Ginsburg even gave the ceremonial oath of office to Cheh when Cheh
joined the DC council.
So, legally speaking how did Gandhi and his spin crew do against the
resume lady? Extremely well, due to a small technicality: during that
eight-hour hearing none of those testifying was ever sworn in.
Happy Thanksgiving or the Politically Correct Equivalent!
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Still Paying for the Washington Nationals
Richard Layman, rlaymandc@yahoo.com
I was disappointed, but not surprised, that rather than hold hearings
about how professional sports teams and leagues play communities against
each other for their financial benefit and the relatively small economic
return that results to cities from such “investments,” the House
Government Operations Committee under Congressman Tom Davis (VA) instead
held hearings about how Comcast wouldn’t carry the Orioles-controlled
regional baseball television network, thereby “denying” fans the
opportunity to watch Nationals baseball games on television. Without
Congressional action, municipalities are going to continue to allow
themselves extranormal payments to sports teams, for fear of losing
teams to other localities.
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Permeability in Commercial Streetscapes
Richard Layman, rlaymandc@yahoo.com
I’m with Jack McKay [themail, November 18], believing that the
challenge process with regard to alcoholic beverage licensing can be
overly onerous, especially in trying to stabilize and maintain quality
commercial districts and the retail mix. Restaurants are vital to
commercial district revitalization, because restaurants provide people
with reasons to visit commercial districts repeatedly, and by offering
food (and restrooms), they allow customers to refresh themselves, and
spend more time within a commercial district. Otherwise, customers come
to the commercial district only for brief periods, in-and-out visits to
specific establishments, rather than browsing and patronizing other
stores.
At the same time, permeability or openness in terms of streetfronts
and windows in a commercial district contributes to a vital commercial
district, not from the standpoint of monitoring businesses, but in
connecting the businesses to the street, and providing activated spaces,
rather than "holes" within the street. A building with covered
windows is no different from a vacant building in terms of how it
connects to the street and the adjacent buildings, and how it punches
holes or vacuums within an otherwise continuous open "wall"
along the street. It is no coincidence that problems in commercial
districts tend to be located where there are vacant and/or impermeable
buildings.
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CLASSIFIEDS — EVENTS
Pentagon History, November 27
Jazmine Zick, jzick@nbm.org
Tuesday, November 27, 6:30-8:00 p.m. Lecture and book signing: The
Pentagon: A History. Constructed in 17 months, the Pentagon stands
as one of the most amazing construction feats in American history. Steve
Vogel, author of The Pentagon: A History (Random House) and
military reporter for The Washington Post, will present the
Pentagon’s riveting history from conception to construction and during
critical moments, including the Cuban Missile Crisis, the 1967
anti-Vietnam “March on the Pentagon,” and rebuilding after the
September 11, 2001, terrorist attack. A book signing will follow the
lecture. $12 members and students; $20 nonmembers. Prepaid registration
required. Walk-in registration based on availability. At the National
Building Museum, 401 F Street, NW, Judiciary Square stop, Metro Red
Line. Register for events at http://www.nbm.org.
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Handel’s Messiah, December 9
Hazel Thomas, thomashazelb@aol.com
Everyone is invited to attend Shiloh’s musical rendition of the
Messiah, with sign language and dramatic interpretations, at 5 p.m. on
Sunday, December 9. The Messiah will be performed by Shiloh Baptist
Church Senior Choir, conducted by Thomas Dixon Tyler, with organist
Evelyn Simpson-Curenton, soprano Lisa Edwards-Burrs, mezzo soprano
Kehembe Valerie Eichelberger, tenor Larry Thomas, and bass Frank B.
Mitchell. It’s a great way to celebrate the Advent season. Deadline
for program ads is November 30. Free will offering at the concert.
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