Dismantling
Dear Mantlers:
It’s becoming clear that when Mayor Fenty and Chancellor Rhee talk
about “reforming” the public education system, they really mean
dismantling it. On April 17, V. Dion Haynes wrote on the Washington
Post’s DC Wire blog the most accurate assessment of Fenty’s and
Rhee’s initiatives that has appeared in that newspaper to date: “Hey,
it’s all about the marketing” (http://blog.washingtonpost.com/dc/2008/04/in_dc_schools_its_all_about_th.html).
Well, to be more accurate, Haynes’ article only appeared in the blog
online; it’s too honest to have been printed in the dead trees
edition. Haynes wrote his blog entry the day before Rhee unveiled her
“Partnership Schools Initiative,” a pilot program to spin off ten of
DC’s most troubled schools to be run by contractors (http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/04/17/AR2008041703746.html),
and Haynes accurately noted that in Rhee-speak, “partner” is the
euphemism for “contractor.”
The plan is becoming clearer. DC’s public schools are to be the new
profit center for contractors. School maintenance and renovation, school
food service, and school transportation are all going to be contracted
out. Charter schools are going to be run by their charter school boards,
many schools are going to be closed, and most of the remaining schools
are going to be run by educational contracting companies. Okay, but that
leaves a big question. If educational policy is supposed to be set by
the State Board of Education and the State Education Officer, if the
Deputy Mayor for Education has a large office to manage the schools, and
if most of the schools are going to be closed, spun off as charters, or
managed by contractors, why do we need Michelle Rhee and the crew of her
friends whom she has hired in the Chancellor’s office at inflated
salaries? Why don’t we just replace them with a few contracting
officers, at a more reasonable price?
Gary Imhoff
themail@dcwatch.com
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Is It Time for the Paper Bags?
Ed T Barron, edtb1@macdotcom
Attendance at the Nationals’ ball games is dropping off despite the
good weather lately. The Pope was a real draw. I wonder if he could play
second base.
If the Nationals don’t start hitting and scoring runs, fans will be
coming to the ball park with paper bags over their heads lest they be
identifiable. It’s clear that the Nationals can draw fans. They have
had some good crowds, but when the bloom is off the rose and the novelty
of the new stadium has been witnessed by a lot of folks who will be
coming to only one or two games, the attendance figures could be
terrible. They might even have fewer folks than are currently going to
the Baltimore Angelos’ games at Camden Yards. My observation, after
only three games at the new ball park, is that there are very few
minorities attending the games. This, despite the fact that there are
some very good minority ball players on the team. The new owners have to
work on this.
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You Are So Lucky to Have Cabs
Star Lawrence, jkellaw@aol.com
Settle down, I hate it too when people tell me how lucky I am to have
this or that. But since leaving DC, I am in cab hell in Arizona.
Smoke-soaked messes with holes in the floorboards and the street
whizzing underneath. I miss sticking out my arm and going someplace. I
think it would help in the comic and economic relief department, at
least, if DC had a “Cash Cab” like that guy on TV. That way, you
guys could pick up a few bucks and maybe get a free ride. The
host/cabdriver could say, “Do you feel lucky?” when you get in.
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On Saturday, May 3, Law Day, a three-judge panel in the Supreme Court
of Guam will hear oral arguments in the case of John Baldwin and Guam
Greyhound, Inc., v. Dorothy Brizill (CVA07-021). The lawsuit was
brought in Guam, by slots promoter John Baldwin, against twenty unnamed
John Does and me in August 2006. Baldwin, as you may recall, was one of
the individuals from the Virgin Islands who tried, unsuccessfully, to
get a slots initiative on the ballot in the District in 2004 and 2006.
The detailed history of those initiatives can be found at http://www.dcwatch.com/election/init18.htm
and http://www.dcwatch.com/election/init20.htm.
For several years, Baldwin, who has since moved his business
headquarters to the Northern Marianas islands in the South Pacific, has
tried unsuccessfully to get a slots initiative approved in Guam. In
2006, he filed a voter initiative in Guam that was virtually identical
to the DC initiative. In the course of researching Baldwin and his
business activities, residents of Guam contacted me after locating
information about his DC efforts through an Internet search. In an
effort to correct misinformation that Baldwin’s attorney was
disseminating in Guam, http://www.dcwatch.com/dorothy/dot060731.htm,
I sent an E-mail to Guam press outlets ( http://www.dcwatch.com/dorothy/dot060801.htm)
and participated in a radio interview that detailed what happened in DC
and referred Guam residents to the findings of the DC Board of Elections
and Ethics and the DC Court of Appeals, as well as to newspaper stories
published in the Washington Post and the Washington Times.
Within three days after my radio interview, Baldwin filed a lawsuit
against me; Jackie Marati, one of the leaders of the Guam anti-slots
citizen movement, and twenty unnamed John Does (http://www.dcwatch.com/dorothy/dot060804.htm).
The complaint sought compensatory and punitive damages for defamation,
tortuous interference with business advantage, and invasion of privacy.
It was clear that the purpose of the lawsuit was to silence Baldwin’s
critics in Guam, and to punish and bankrupt me for aborting his DC
initiatives. It is also clear that the complaint is a SLAPP (strategic
lawsuit against public participation) suit, an abusive technique often
used by wealthy business interests to intimidate ordinary people from
opposing them in the public arena. Fortunately, Guam has a strong anti-SLAPP
statute immunizing “acts in furtherance of the Constitutional right to
petition, including seeking relief, influencing action, informing,
communicating, and otherwise participating in the processes of
government.” Guam’s Superior Court held that Baldwin’s lawsuit was
a SLAPP suit. Judge Elizabeth Barrett-Anderson, in July 2007, issued a
ruling that “defendant [Dorothy Brizill] is immune from suit under the
Guam Participation in Government Act. Plaintiff herein has failed to
show by clear and convincing evidence that the alleged statements of
defendant, Dorothy Brizill, were not aimed at procuring any electoral or
government action, result, or outcome” (http://www.dcwatch.com/dorothy/dot070719.htm).
Baldwin’s appeal of his suit’s dismissal is the subject of the May 3
Supreme Court hearing.
Since 2006, I’ve had the good fortune to be represented in this
case by Art Spitzer, legal director of the American Civil Liberties
Union of the National Capital Area. Because the ACLU does not have an
office in Guam, Spitzer was able to secure the local assistance of Guam
attorney Jeffrey A. Cook.
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Nerd Alert: Myself on 20/20
Paul K. Williams, pkelseyw@aol.com
I had my fifteen minutes of fame on 20/20 last night: http://abcnews.go.com/Technology/Weather/Story?id=4668201&page=1.
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Gary says (themail, April 16) he’s “begging for good news,” for
any sort of positive story about Washington. So here’s one that I
thought was going to result in a disastrous and insoluble muddle, and
turned out showing great courtesy on the part of some government
officials.
I was in New Orleans for the entire month of March. I’d been there
for a week or so when my house sitter called and said I had a letter
from the United States Attorney for the District of Columbia. I asked
her to open it and read it to me over the phone. The letter was titled
“Notice of Unlawful Activity at xxxx North Capitol Street, NW,” and
went on to say that as a result of a search warrant, police had found
and seized crack cocaine, marijuana, and narcotics paraphernalia, and
arrested two people. The letter alleged that I own the property. I
immediately wrote a reply to Mr. Barry Wiegard, the Assistant US
Attorney who signed the letter, assuring him that they had the wrong
Carolyn Long, and that the only property I own is in Tenleytown. I
requested that he call my cell phone to tell me that the matter had been
resolved. I never got the call.
When I returned home in early April, there was a registered letter
from the US Attorney’s Office, and I soon received another letter from
Mr. Twane Duckworth of the Attorney General’s Office for the District
of Columbia. At this point I decided I’d better go downtown and see
about this. My husband and I called on Barry Wiegard at 555 4th Street,
and, after going through security and having our photographs taken, we
were directed to a waiting area. In a few minutes, Mr. Wiegard appeared
and escorted us to his office. As soon as I introduced myself, he
apologized for the mistake, said that he had not received my letter
because all mail to the US Attorney’s Office is sent away somewhere to
be irradiated. He promised to clear everything up and to notify Mr.
Duckworth. As promised, Mr. Wiegard sent me a letter clearing me of all
association with the crack house on North Capitol Street. I also got a
phone call from Mr. Duckworth, saying that! the problem had been
resolved and apologizing for inconveniencing me.
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CLASSIFIEDS — EVENTS
Something Positive to Celebrate: Earth Day,
April 21
Sue Ostroff, sostro@earthlink.net
Gary Imhoff, in themail (April 16), asked for “something positive”
from readers. As we approach Earth Day, I have a suggestion. By all
means, visit the DC Earth Day fest at Freedom Plaza on Monday, April 21,
and urge the powers-that-be to replant the cat-o’-nine-tails and water
lilies that formerly populated neighboring Pershing Park when it first
opened in the ’80’s. (Here’s good news — they have turned the
water and fountain back on.)
Here’s another positive thought: if you want mental healing, hang
out in a community garden, anywhere in the city, at 7 a.m. As the
February Urban Gardeners’ Forum can attest, there are a growing number
of them. Even if you don’t have a plot, strolling through one and
listening to the large variety of birds at that hour can make you feel
right with the world. (Don’t bring in your pets. Not only do DC Parks
and Recreation rules disallow them, their wastes are not wanted by
vegetable eaters due to e coli, will kill trees, and the barking will
disturb the peace.) I had ten mallard duck eggs appear under comfrey
greens in my garden last spring. (It had a sad ending; the raccoons ate
all of them. Oh well, life can’t be all happy. A new season, new ideas
to try next time.)
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Our nation’s capital is going green, and the District Department of
the Environment (DDOE) is leading the way. In celebration of Earth Day,
DDOE is hosting Green DC Day on Monday, April 21, on Freedom Plaza in
northwest Washington, DC. Green DC Day is designed to promote green
living and a healthy environment. Green DC Day kicks off a full week of
Earth Day events taking place across the city. Please join us between
10:00 a.m. and 4:00 p.m. to celebrate the District’s going green
efforts.
Nearly one hundred District agencies, organizations and businesses
will participate to educate residents about the importance of preserving
our environment and using energy wisely. Exhibitors include Home Depot,
DC Greenworks, DC Department of Public Works, the Environmental
Protection Agency, US Green Building Council, Rainforest Bus, Segway,
and Zipcar, to name a few.
Exciting green events will take place throughout the day, such as a
green fashion show and an 11:00 a.m. going green press conference at
which Mayor Adrian Fenty has been invited to give remarks on the
environmental progress in the District. For more information or a list
of Earth Day events, please visit http://ddoe.dc.gov/greendcweek.
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State Board of Education Hearings, April 23,
30
Beverley Wheeler, beverley.wheeler@dc.gov
The DC State Board of Education (SBOE) will be hosting a series of
public hearings on issues critical to education in the District of
Columbia. Wednesday, April 23, the State Board of Education will hold a
public hearing to gather the public’s views on the proposed academic
standards for the arts: dance, music, theater, and the visual arts. The
text of the proposed arts standards can be found on the Office of the
State Superintendent web site, http://www.osse.dc.gov.
Wednesday, April 30, the State Board will hold a public hearing to
gather the public’s views on the proposed policies for Supplemental
Education Service providers. Supplemental Education Services are after
school instructional programs designed to increase the achievement of
eligible students in schools in need of improvement. The text of the
proposed policies will be located on the Office of the State
Superintendent web site, http://www.osse.dc.gov,
and the State Board of Education web site, http://www.sboe.dc.gov,
on Monday, April 21.
All SBOE public hearings are held in the First Floor Chambers at One
Judiciary Square, 441 Fourth Street, NW, and begin at 5:30 p.m. If you
are interested in testifying, contact Beverley Wheeler, Executive
Director, at 741-0888, by fax at 741-0879, or via E-mail at Beverley.Wheeler@dc.gov,
and provide your name, address, telephone number, organizational
affiliation, and title (if any) by 4:00 p.m. the Monday before the
hearing. Those who wish to testify are encouraged, but not required, to
submit fifteen copies of written testimony.
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Conversation on Immigration Issues, April 24
Julie Drizin, juliedrizin@starpower.net
The Immigrants Next Door: What’s Fair? Join NPR host Michel Martin
for a lively conversation with George Taplin, leader of the Virginia
Minutemen, and Annabel Park and Eric Byler, local documentary filmmakers
who have been covering the conflict over immigration in our region.
Clips of their film 9500 Liberty will be shown. Thursday, April 24, at
7:15 p.m. at the Washington Ethical Society, 7750 16th Street, NW at
Kalmia. Ample street parking. $15; $10 for students and seniors. For
more information, go to http://www.ethicalsociety.org
or call 882-6650.
This is event is part of Spark!, the ThinkingOutLoud Speaker series,
which offers compelling conversations that go beyond the headlines to
illuminate new ideas and explore all sides of an issue. DC resident
Michel Martin is the host of Tell Me More, a news interview program
heard on WAMU 88.5 FM weekdays at 2:00 p.m.
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Great Gatsby
Book Talk, May 8
Beth Meyer, lmeyer8090@aol.com
Jackson R. Bryer and Cathy W. Barks, co-editors of Dear Scott,
Dearest Zelda: The Love Letters of F. Scott and Zelda Fitzgerald,
will give a talk on “F. Scott and Zelda Fitzgerald and The Great
Gatsby” on Thursday, May 8, 2008, at 6:30 p.m. in the first floor
auditorium of the Cleveland Park Branch of the DC Public Library,
Connecticut and Macomb Streets, NW. A book sale and signing of Dear
Scott, Dearest Zelda, courtesy of the Trover Shop, will follow the
program. They will talk about the Fitzgerald’s marriage and how the
complexities of that relationship are reflected in The Great Gatsby.
This event is part of DC’s “Big Read.”
Mr. Bryer is the Professor Emeritus of English at the University of
Maryland, where he taught undergraduate and graduate courses in American
literature and dramatic literature for forty-one years. He is the
co-founder and current president of the F. Scott Fitzgerald Society and
has authored several books about F. Scott Fitzgerald. Ms. Barks is the
Associate Director of the University Honors Program at the University of
Maryland, where she teachers American Literature. She is a member of the
F. Scott Fitzgerald Society’s board of directors and compiles the
annual Fitzgerald bibliography for the Fitzgerald Review.
The Cleveland Park Branch of the DC Public Library is located near
the Cleveland Park Metrorail Station. All District of Columbia Public
Library activities are open to the public free of charge. For further
information, please call the Cleveland Park Library at 282-3080.
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Jazz Concert: The Afro-Semitic Experience, May
17
Glen Howard, glenshoward@gmail.com
A special concert of jazz featuring Cantor Laura Croen, David Cevan
on bass, and Warren Byrd on piano: The Afro-Semitic Experience, will be
given on Saturday, May 17, 7:30 p.m., at Temple Sinai, 3100 Military
Road, NW. There will be a dessert reception after the show. Tickets are
$25 each. For more information, call 363-6394.
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