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November 21, 2007

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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