Earmarks
Dear Markers:
Dorothy’s message about the city council’s earmarks in the FY2009
budget in the last issue of themail generated a lot of comment, some of
it sent anonymously and some given not for attribution. Below, Dorothy
writes about the most revealing lead, a tip about a previously
unreleased council study of the growth of its own earmarks.
Dorothy used some earmarks in the budget of the Committee on Public
Works and the Environment as an example of earmarks in the FY2009
budget. The examples she used got some interesting responses. The
$100,000 grant to Mt. Pleasant Main Street drew comment because in
December 2007 the Department of Small and Local Business Development
terminated its grant to Mt. Pleasant Main Street and its designation as
a DC Main Streets program “due to MPMS’ inability to fulfill the
terms of its grant over the last two years.” The $100,000 grant to the
Reeves Recovery Group, Inc., drew the comment that in making this
earmark Councilmember Jim Graham was giving funds to his own personal
recovery group (a connection that the commenter said was no AA secret,
since the councilmember himself had publicized his membership in the
group in the past). There was another comment that earmarks sometimes
are traded or switched between committees. Two examples that were given
are that Jack Evans’ committee sent dedicated funds to Carol Schwartz’s
committee to be given to a particular church’s homeless voucher
program, and that Mary Cheh’s committee sent $250,000 to Schwartz’s
committee to be spent on Greenworks.
What’s wrong with earmarks, anyway? It’s not that the groups that
get earmarked funds are necessarily bad groups, or that their projects
are bad. It’s that earmarking is not how government funding decisions
should be made. Good governmental budgeting starts with the government’s
deciding, through a democratic process, what work needs to be done, what
work government employees can do themselves, and what work must be done
by outside contractors. To find those contractors, the government then
holds an open and competitive bidding process to solicit proposals and
to determine contractors’ qualifications.
Earmarking turns that process on its head. An organization with the
right contacts, the right friendships, the right godfathers, decides
that it would like government funding for its projects, and it solicits
government assistance. Instead of the government’s selecting the best
qualified and lowest-cost contractor for work that the government has
decided it needs, the government instead gives taxpayers’ money to
politicians’ friends and the well connected for what those friends
want to do.
Mike Licht, below, writes about how New York City ditched earmarks
for cultural and arts groups and instituted a competitive process for
cultural grants. That’s not innovative; it’s just old-fashioned good
government. Funding by competitive bidding rather than through political
favors is simply how it should be done. It’s not a perfect system, but
it’s better than distributing government funds on the basis of who
knows who.
Gary Imhoff
themail@dcwatch.com
###############
District Taxpayers Deserve $769.23 Per Day for
Fenty’s Time
Paul D. Craney, press@dcgop.com
In the aftermath of DC Mayor Adrian Fenty’s spending Monday in
North Carolina campaigning for Sen. Barack Obama’s presidential
campaign, the District of Columbia Republican Committee sent invoices to
the Obama campaign and Mayor’s office to compensate the District for
the Mayor’s taxpayer funded campaign trip. The District of Columbia
mayoral position receives an annual salary of $200,000 or $769.23 a day.
The DC Republican Committee is requesting for $769.23 to be reimbursed.
“In addition to the $100 million Mayor Fenty proposed in new taxes
and fees, and a $35 million revenue shortfall reveled this week by the
District’s CFO, the DC Republican Committee is identifying creative
ways to save the District much needed money and that is through billing
the Obama campaign and Mayor’s office for every day the Mayor spends
campaigning out of state for the Obama,” stated DC Republican
Committee Chair Robert J. Kabel. Additional sources of revenue would
include reimbursements for travel and meal expenses that were otherwise
paid for by DC taxpayers.
###############
Open and Transparent Pork
Dorothy Brizill, dorothy@dcwatch.com
After my article on earmarks was published in Sunday’s issue of
themail, senior council staffers contacted me and indicated that I had
highlighted an ongoing, troublesome abuse of the District’s budget
process. Several staffers told me that the council’s Office of Policy
Analysis had completed a study on earmarking that I should review. But
don’t expect that the OPA exists to serve the public or to inform the
public about the findings of its studies. On Tuesday, I went to the OPA
office in the Wilson Building. When I requested a copy of the report,
OPA staffer Erica Hamilton dug a copy out from a tall stack of papers.
She said it was her only copy, so I volunteered to make a copy for
myself. When I returned to the office, I was told that I had to wait,
because Hamilton had gone to check with the office of the Chairman of
the council to see whether the report was public, and whether she was
permitted to give me a copy. When she returned, she said that the
report, although dated March 12, 2008, was not public and had not been
released, and demanded that I return the original and the copy I had
made. I asked why the report was not public, and she said, “This
office is set up for the benefit of the council, not the general public.”
She indicated that the OPA operates under the “conditions of
confidentiality,” and that it is at the discretion of councilmembers
whether to release a report to the public. Doxie McCoy, Chairman Gray’s
press secretary, responding to my request for a comment on this, sent me
an E-mail today indicating that “the nature of the office’s work is
confidential. . . .” McCoy wrote that she knew I had requested the
report, and that, “It has been given to a couple of news outlets that
recently requested it from me. . . .” In light of that, she offered to
release it to me, also.
I haven’t received a copy from McCoy yet, but here are a few
highlights from a copy of the report that I obtained from other sources.
1) The report’s methodology appears to be flawed. It tracks only
earmarks contained in Budget Support Acts, not earmarks in the annual
Fiscal Year budgets for departments and agencies. Therefore, the actual
number and extent of earmarks is vastly underestimated. 2) The report
also underreports earmarks by tracking only direct funding for
organizations, institutions, and private sector entities, not earmarks
for specific projects and programs internally within the government. 3)
Even with these limitations, the report finds an extraordinary growth in
earmarking over the past decade. Between 1999 and 2003, the council made
no earmarks. In 2004, the council made three earmarks designated as
contract awards, with no dollar amount specified. In 2005, there were
two earmarks worth $1,250,000; in 2006, twenty-five earmarks valued at
$17,510,900; in 2007, forty-four earmarks costing $29,308,282; and in
2008, ninety-nine earmarks costing $49,766,576. It is obvious from this
explosive growth that earmarking abuse of the DC budget has been
uncontrolled. The report concludes that, “The council is at a turning
point, like many other jurisdictions in the United States, including the
United States Congress, relative to identifying the most appropriate
method for reforming this practice. The council must determine whether
or not it should abolish its use altogether or reform the existing
process.”
###############
Such a Deal
Ed T. Barron, edtb1@macdotcom
The Newseum (the newly opened museum of journalism right across from
the West Wing of the National Gallery) has a somewhat steep entry fee
($18 for seniors), but this is one great museum for those who have
followed world events over their lives in newspapers, magazines, films,
and TV. There’s really way too much to see in one visit, so there’s
a real deal to be found for those who will be making more than one tip
to the Newseum over the next year. Seniors can get a one-year membership
for $50. The eighteen bucks for your first admission can be applied to
the fifty-dollar annual membership, and the whole fifty dollars is tax
deductible. My annual membership (and rooomie’s, too) would actually
cost only about ten dollars after figuring the tax deductibility. And,
you get a gift of a stuffed moose (two mooses, in our case) with your
purchase of the annual membership. Such a deal.
###############
Mayor Fenty’s pal Mike Bloomberg and the New York City council
ditched cultural earmarks in the Big Apple, replacing them with
competitive peer-reviewed grants for arts organizations. This means the
council doesn’t waste time listening to beggars from
multimillion-dollar cultural organizations and can concentrate on public
safety, schools, and other issues. See http://notionscapital.wordpress.com/2008/04/29/arts-earmark-rage/.
If the Ford’s Theater dust-up doesn’t convince the mayor and DC
council to apply the NYC solution, then Washingtonians need to vote in
politicians who know more about art. Primary candidates must audition or
submit a portfolio.
###############
In last Sunday’s issue of themail, I wrote about “pork,” the
earmarks in the city council committee reports marking up the FY2009
budget. As an example, I referenced the earmarks Councilmember Jim
Graham had included in the budgets of the departments and agencies under
his Committee on Public Works and the Environment. I could have made it
clearer that the examples I used were just a partial listing. The
earmarks I listed are being funded out of the budget for the Department
of Public Works, and are referenced in the committee report as “committee
initiatives.” Graham’s earmarks will be funded largely by revenues
from increased parking enforcement in the District. The committee
approved a 25 percent increase in DPW funding and personnel dedicated to
neighborhood parking enforcement and patrols for registration of
out-of-state automobiles. The committee anticipates that the additional
resources for DPW will generate $14.1 million annually in recurring
revenue. Graham then earmarked $11.7 million of that additional revenue.
With few exceptions, Graham’s earmarks are for groups and projects
in his ward, Ward One. Other committees and councilmembers are also
guilty of earmarking government funds to pet projects and groups. For
example, Jack Evans’ Committee on Finance and Revenue transferred
$250,000 to the Committee on Health for the Capital Breast Care Center,
and transferred $150,000 to the Capital Area Asset Builders for the
DCEITC Outreach Campaign. Meanwhile, Kwame Brown’s Committee on
Economic Development from the Community Benefit Fund Initiative to a
variety of groups and organizations, including $398,000 for a
feasibility study for a Children’s Museum, a $500,000 grant to the
Greater Washington Sports Alliance, and $232,000 to Keely’s Boxing and
Youth Center.
The Budget Support Act, Bill 17-670, a separate bill that accompanies
the FY2009 budget, also contains an additional $24.6 million in
earmarks, including $10 million to Ford’s Theater; $300,000 to City
Dance; $25,000 to a community garden at 13th Street and Kentucky Avenue,
SE; $500,000 to DC Vote; $250,000 to the Fort Dupont Ice Arena; $50,000
to the High Tea Society; $1,000,000 to Peaceaholics; and $1.5 million to
Southeastern University.
###############
Fenty’s Popularity
Anne-Marie Bairstow, abairstow at alum dot swarthmore dot
edu
Why is Fenty popular? While I wouldn’t call myself a Fenty
cheerleader, I will offer my opinion on the issues that Gary outlined [themail,
May 4]. (By the way, I don’t fit the profile of what you call “his
core supporters.”)
1) School firings. In my daughter’s school, there was a completely
inept gym teacher. He frequently didn’t show up for work, and when
did, he was mean to the kids. He was just not a person who should be
teaching kids. It took the principal until April to get rid of him. And
she worked hard at it. While I am sorry that he is out of a job, I am
not going to sacrifice my kids’ education to keep incompetent people
employed. It’s not that I “don’t like public school employees,
even classroom teachers.” I love my daughter’s classroom teacher,
the librarian, the art teacher, etc., but I can’t help wondering how
many times my kids will have to sit through eight months of an outright
mean teacher. That’s just not in the best interest of DC
schoolchildren. So I support Rhee’s overall approach, and I suspect
that many other DCPS parents who’ve been through similar situations
feel the same way.
2) Taxicabs. Perception is reality. Gary makes good points about the
costs of cabs and the ability to tamper with a meter. But the zone
system made people feel like they were being ripped off. A tour company
operator told me about how they had to revamp their ticket collection
system, which involved spot checking tickets, because when other
customers saw people getting on and not buying or showing a ticket, they
got upset. Because it appeared that other people got away with paying
nothing, customer who shelled out eighteen dollars felt like chumps. It
actually worsened the experience for them. Which is exactly what happens
with DC cabs under the zone system. You end up feeling like a chump.
Even though I’ve lived here eighteen years and somewhat understand the
zone system, I was still quoted different rates almost every time I got
in a cab. Some of those times I was definitely being ripped off. And for
visitors I think it feels even worse, because they don’t understand
the zone system, and even if they did, they don’t know the city well
enough. While I complain about tourists as much as anyone else, in
reality, I want tourists to come here because I want them to spend their
money in DC (and I want them to come back and I want them to encourage
their friends to visit). If their first experience on the ground is a
negative one, that can color their whole trip.
3) Making enemies: Jack Evans was quoted in the Post the other
day, something like “he acts like a normal mayor, you mess with him,
he’s going to mess with you worse,” (sorry I can’t remember the
exact quote.) People who have spent time working in other cities tell me
that the mayors in Boston and New York are like that, leading to less
craziness and incompetence. Is that the right way to govern? I don’t
know, but I can make the argument that it’s more effective that a
mayor and council who do nothing except point fingers at each other
(which we have seen in the past). While there are plenty of areas that I
think need improvement (can we have an Attorney General who lives in the
city, please?), I don’t find the mayor’s popularity unfathomable.
###############
Schools and Fenty’s Popularity
Karen Loeschner, karenloeschner@mac.com
I am a childless yuppie and a new Washingtonian. I am skeptical of
Fenty’s method of governing. I’m also a certified high school
teacher and staunchly pro-union. So I don’t know where I fit in your
profile. But I don’t understand the repeated complaints I’m hearing
about why it’s taking so long to fix DCPS. This is an egregiously
inefficient bureaucracy with a wealth of problems going back decades.
What kind of successes do people realistically expect to see in less
than one year? Schools have historically been stuck in the middle of
many, many stakeholders. With each party trying to pull the schools
towards its own agenda, it’s no surprise that little gets
accomplished. In a healthy district, this system of checks and balances
works well to produce a synthesis of successful ideas. In an unhealthy
system, the result is infighting and inertia, while still releasing into
the community every June thousands of students who have received a
substandard education.
But let’s assume DC can get beyond the inertia. If and when change
does occur, it’s going to be at a snail’s pace. It’s like trying
to right an ocean liner that’s gone off-course: you will not correct
it overnight. The best you can do is make incremental changes back
towards the right direction, and wait. Sometimes a long time, often much
longer than people have patience for. DCPS has been shamelessly allowed
to languish for years by every stakeholder in this city, so don’t be
so quick to judge those who are now doing something to fix it. It is so
far off course the map needs to be thrown out and redrawn.
As for teachers getting booted, I’ve worked alongside “academic
deadwood,” arriving at the conclusion that unfortunately education is
sometimes a great meal ticket for the unambitious. Luckily, in my
experience, the unambitious were far outnumbered by truly caring and
competent professionals. For the incompetents, however, I felt resentful
that they were allowed to remain in their jobs, often with enviable
salaries (far more than me, at least), for many reasons: for “phoning
it in” every day with their students, who deserve better; for failing
to uphold academic standards; for not being invested in their own
professional development, much less the academic development of their
students; and for abusing tenure, which is meant to protect good
teachers, not excuse bad ones. Yes, it’s a major inconvenience for
people to have to reapply for their own jobs. However, given the need
for talented teachers, I trust that, for those who are not merely making
a meal ticket out of DCPS, this is a formality and their jobs are safe.
But for the deadwood, this is an opportunity to get rid of them . . . to
remove the protective shield of tenure that has kept them employed. Don’t
be surprised when the union cries foul over this. They’re obligated to
support all union members, not just the good ones, in a morally
precarious position similar to how the ACLU must defend racists. Promise
a union official anonymity, though, and I’d be shocked if he or she
didn’t admit many of those teachers need to go, if not express
outright relief that someone else is taking the heat for getting rid of
them.
I am on sabbatical but planning on staying in DC, and I’ve been
asked many times if I want to teach here. I don’t know yet, but I can
say that this “competent, certified and experienced” teacher does
not want to work in a district that hastens its downward spiral by
retaining unmotivated, incompetent and/or ineffective teachers. Because
nothing is more “counterproductive, destroys employee morale, wastes
valuable talent, and tarnishes future teacher recruitment efforts”
than that.
[The reason that people complain about the amount of time is that
Mayor Fenty said he wanted to take over the school system because
improvement was taking too long under the Board of Education. He
promised that if he were given control he would ensure that the schools
improved rapidly. Now the mayor and Chancellor Rhee are saying that it
will take just as long, or even longer, to see any measurable
improvement as it would have under the previous, democratically elected
Board of Education. That means that Fenty’s stated rationale for the
power grab was false. — Gary Imhoff]
###############
Hardship for Taxi Drivers
Qawi Robinson, qrobinso@lycos.com
In hearing the sentiments of cab drivers and the pro-meter lobby, the
reintroduction of meters is taking its toll in ways the public is not
aware of. In fact, it seems the mayor’s administration seems not only
to have steamrolled the deal, but also to do it in a way that shows a
sincere lack of concern for the profession and drivers as a whole. To
those who complain that cab drivers are “getting what they deserve”
or are cheating folks, they need to understand what it is “like” in
the profession. There are dishonest people in every profession, but for
those really wondering why Cab Drivers are crying foul, please
understand the following. First, in addition to being subject to higher
scrutiny to get their licenses, their vehicles must go through
inspection every six months. For the drivers who own their cabs, that
can be a costly venture, as things that a normal person could neglect in
their passenger cars (such as steam cleaning the engine), must be done
to pass inspection. Some drivers who rent their cabs, may pay as much as
$50 a day, or $350 a week. Adding to that, all DC cab drivers must
maintain insurance, which is roughly $250 a week. If they drive a radio
cab, there are other dues that they pay. Add all of this to the cost of
gas, and one begins to understand how costly this profession is to
independent entrepreneurs. Now add meters to the mix, and you really
begin to see the impact.
###############
Most DC cab drivers wouldn’t last a hot minute in any other
northeast city. (I don’t know about other cities; I haven’t taken
that many cabs elsewhere.) In other cities, cabbies can instantly map
out alternate routes from any given point to any given destination, and
know which streets to take (or not) at which hours. Sometimes they’ll
offer riders a choice between the fastest way and the cheapest way, and
if a rider requests/declines a certain route, the drivers comply. Here,
they argue. The zone system lets cabbies get by without having to really
learn the city. Even if it means the trip will take longer, cabbies can
take whatever streets they like — and they usually like the streets
where chances for piggyback fares are best.
I’ve never been anywhere (besides DC) that allowed cabbies to pick
up additional riders and charge them the full amount. I’ve had cabbies
cram three fares into a cab, basically tripling their profit (and, for
the original rider, the time required for the trip). The multiple fares
easily make up for any time spent sitting in traffic. In these
circumstances, what incentive does a cabbie have to get a rider to his
destination quickly? I’ve had plenty of cab rides that were slower
than a bus trip would’ve been, even if it involved multiple buses. I’ve
often had to hail two or three different cabs to find one willing to
take me to my destination. One cabbie terminated the trip abruptly after
two blocks, throwing me out when he ran into a buddy he wanted to hook
up with. I’ve had drivers refuse to take the routes I’ve requested (“if
I break down, it will be harder for a tow truck to find me”), drivers
who refused to drive over 35 mph in a 45 mph zone (“it puts too much
strain on my engine”), drivers who refused to turn on the AC (“it’s
not that hot” — especially if you’re in front of a dashboard fan),
drivers who laughed at my request for a receipt, drivers whose accents I
couldn’t begin to understand, and drivers who apparently never ever
carry change for a twenty-dollar bill or any other denomination.
The DC cab system has, for a long time, operated on the laws of
averages. This deprives drivers of incentive. You might want to pick
another example . . . that is, unless DC teachers operate under similar
circumstances.
###############
Klingle Road: The Mount Pleasant ANC Speaks
Jack McKay, jack.mckay@verizon.net
On May 6, by a unanimous (5 to 0) vote, the Mount Pleasant Advisory
Neighborhood Commission passed the resolution below, endorsing the text
put in the report of the Public Works and Environment Committee by
Councilmember Cheh, which amounts to a permanent closing of Klingle Road
to automobile traffic: “Resolved, that ANC1D advises the Council of
the District to approve the expenditure of $2 million in federal funds
for environmental remediation of Klingle Valley and construction of a
recreation trail.
“Issues and concerns: The construction of an automobile road along
the Klingle right-of-way, as contemplated by the Klingle Road
Restoration Act of 2003, would result in the permanent loss of a portion
of Rock Creek Park to automobiles, at the expense of natural and
recreational uses. With the change in automobile traffic patterns of the
past several years, the need for the automobile road has greatly
diminished, whereas needs for bicycle routes and recreational areas have
increased. The preservation of this portion of Rock Creek National Park
for natural and recreational use today offers the highest value to the
people of the District.” Voting “yes”: Commissioners Edwards,
Scott, Bosserman, Zara, and McKay (Commissioner Tunda absent).
###############
Dorothy Brizill forgot a bit of pork in her list of May 4. Ms.
Brizill points out that Jim Graham, as Chair of the Committee on Public
Works and the Environment, is specifically responsible for “. . .
matters relating to environmental protection regulation and policies. .
. .“ In this capacity Mr. Graham has judged that he is fit to dismiss
the Environmental Impact Study (EIS) required for all projects. He has
set this precedent by pushing for a road in Klingle Valley Park, as the
area is named on US Park Service maps, even though the road project
cannot meet the standards required in the EIS.
If this road is pushed through by dismissing the EIS, Graham and
pro-road supporters turn the project into a narrow special interest that
will be paid for with pork, and which could weaken environmental
protection in all of DC in the future. Graham’s plan is to forfeit
federal transportation funds originally planned on for this project. All
States receive a limited amount of these federal funds to pay for 80
percent of projects that meet EIS standards. Therefore the Klingle
Valley road project would require special funding or pork: 100 percent
DC taxpayer money instead of the pre-planned 20 percent. A road in
Klingle Valley (KV) is currently estimated at $11.8 million upfront,
plus a conservative 5 percent interest for that borrowed money totaling
$21 million for the 0.7 miles of road — a rate greater than the
infamous Alaskan pork “bridge to nowhere,” which was canceled.
Furthermore, the Berger Report mandated by the council three years
ago concluded that 52 percent of the trips in the vicinity of KV are
made by mass transit, on bike or on foot. Of the 48 percent that are
made in cars, fewer than a quarter on either side of Connecticut Avenue
have a final destination on the other side of Connecticut Avenue (east
or west). That means a road in KV exclusive to cars (no walkers, bikers
or busses) would benefit fewer than a quarter of people living in the
vicinity, but would be subsidized 100 percent by all DC residents, and
would cause environmental damage that affects everyone everywhere and
could weaken environmental protections citywide. Additionally the Berger
Report concluded a road in KV would not improve traffic at Porter and
Connecticut Avenue or at other area intersections. This project, as Mr.
Graham currently envisions it, is a special interest pork-funded project
costly to all in terms of resources (environmentally and fiscally) for
the benefit of a very few. Contrast a hiking/biking trail that does meet
EIS standards and can be 80 percent paid for with federal transportation
funds at a fraction of the total cost, thus greatly minimizing the
burden both fiscally and environmentally to all DC residents.
###############
Klingle Road
David Culp, Capitol Hill, davidculp@yahoo.com
Laurie Collins (themail, May 4) continues her defense of
reconstruction a closed road in Klingle Valley, an arm of Rock Creek
Park. Last week, DC Councilmember Mary Cheh was successful in striking
$2 million in city funding from being used to begin rebuilding Klingle
Road. Instead she redirected funding to a hiker/biker trail through the
valley. The vote was 3-2 in the Public Works Committee, with
Councilmembers Cheh, Kwame Brown, and Yvette Alexander voting for the
trail. Councilmember Jim Graham is expected to try to reverse that vote
and seek to restore funding to rebuild the road, when the full DC
council will vote on the city budget on May 13. Send an E-mail message
to all thirteen council members urging them to support Councilmember
Cheh’s plan for a hiker-biker trail in Klingle Valley — not a road.
You can send a single message to membersonly@dccouncil.us.
Your message will be distributed to all thirteen councilmembers. It is
important that council members continue to hear from us before the full
council votes on the budget on May 13.
###############
CLASSIFIEDS — EVENTS
Third Black Docs Film Series, May 8
Corey Jennings, press@urbanfilmseries.com
Landmark Theater’s E Street Cinema, 555 11th Street, NW, will host
this year’s Black Docs Film Series from May through September under
the theme: “Through The Eyes Of.” “Through The Eyes Of” is a
monthly examination of the development and movement of urban life and
culture from different ethnic and cultural perspectives. The series
kicks-off May 8th with “The Souls of Black Girls” and the premiere
of “This Is Our Club.” Tickets are $10 general admission and $15 for
VIP reserved seating and can be purchased at the theater box office or www.UrbanFilmSeries.com.
The five-month fundraising event will benefit NGAF’s upcoming children
and health awareness programs.
Tickets: $10 general admission; $15 VIP reserved seating. Tickets are
available at the box office or online at http://www.UrbanFilmSeries.com.
All times for dates below are 7:00 p.m.-9:00 p.m. May 8, Black Girls and
Social Grouping: The Souls of Black Girls and This Is Our Club: The
History of the Montgomery County Maryland Chapter of Jack and Jill of
America, Inc. June 12, AfroMexico/Indian Heritage and Free Slave
Movements: La Raíz Olvidada (The Forgotten Root) and De Florida a
Coahuila (From Florida to Coahuila) ((films contain English/Spanish
subtitles where necessary). July 17, African Unity and Bob Marley:
Africa Unite. August 14, Cuban Legends: Los Zafiros (The Sapphires):
Music from the Edge of Time. September 4, Urban and Demographic Change:
The Water Front and Twilight Becomes Night.
###############
Artomatic and James Bond Film Festival, May
8-9
Elizabeth Price, info@nomabid.org
Artomatic, the Washington, DC, area’s homegrown art extravaganza,
opens to the public at noon on Friday, May 9, with over seven hundred
visual artists and three hundred performances, including the
fire-dancing troupe Flights of Fire on Friday night and performance art
in the form of a new TV game show “The Road to Success!” on
Saturday.
Artomatic 2008 will occupy ten floors of the Capitol Plaza I
building, located at 1200 First Street (1st and M Streets), NE, just one
block west of the New York Avenue Metro station. Show hours are Fridays
and Saturdays: noon-2:00 a.m.; Sundays: noon-10:00 p.m.; Wednesdays and
Thursdays: 5:00 p.m.-10:00 p.m.; closed Mondays and Tuesdays. Artomatic’s
closing day is June 15. A full schedule of events is available at http://www.artomatic.org.
The summer-long James Bond Film Festival opens May 8 with “Dr. No”
beginning at dusk at the intersection of Florida and New York Avenues,
NE. The site is located directly across Florida Avenue from the New York
Avenue Metro station on the Red Line and the Department of Alcohol,
Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) headquarters. Bond films will be
shown each Thursday night through August 28, rain or shine, with each
film showing preceded by an Odd Job and other Bond character look-alike
contest. Attendees are encouraged to bring a blanket and a picnic and
walk, bike, or take Metro. The film series will take place on the future
site of MRP Realty’s Washington Gateway project, a one million square
foot mixed-use project that will begin construction later this year. A
movie schedule and map are available at http://www.nomabid.org.
Both events are accessible from New York Avenue Metro Station on the Red
Line.
###############
Witold Rybczynski at NBM, May 13
Jazmine Zick, jzick@nbm.org
Tuesday, May 13, 6:30-8:00 p.m., Charles H. Atherton Memorial
Lecture: Witold Rybczynski. Author, scholar, professor, and architect
Witold Rybczynski examines Washington DC’s height limit, which for
nearly one hundred years has set firm limits for the heights of
buildings in the District. Rybczynski explores the historical context of
height limits across the country and offers thoughts on the future of DC’s
skyline. $12 Members; $12 Students; $20 Non-Members. 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.
###############
Robert Creamer at MLK Library, May 14
George Williams, george.williams2@dc.gov
Veteran political organizer and strategist Robert Creamer will
discuss his new book, Listen to Your Mother: Stand Up Straight. How
Progressives Can Win, and the Democratic presidential nomination on
Wednesday, May 14, at 6:30 p.m., in the Great Hall of the Martin Luther
King, Jr., Memorial Library. A book signing will follow.
The book lays out a broad strategy for progressive victory and
describes the tactics needed to win real-world political battles one at
a time. Creamer argues that progressives have an historic opportunity
over the next two years to create long-term political realignment in the
United States. However, to be successful, Creamer advocates that
Progressives reassert their commitment to fundamental progressive values
and vision for the future. “Some people think that in order to win,
Democrats need to move to the political center by adopting conservative
values and splitting the difference between progressive and
conservatives positions,” says Creamer. “History shows they are
wrong. To win the next election and to win in the long term, we need to
redefine the political center.” With Senators Barack Obama and Hillary
Clinton engaging in an historic race for the Democratic presidential
nomination, Creamer’s analyzes the elements of a successful campaign
and recommends strategies that would be useful to any office seeker.
Creamer, who is the husband of Congresswoman Jan Schakowsky
(D-Illinois), has been a political organizer and strategist for almost
four decades. He has worked with many of the country’s most
significant issue campaigns, and was one of the major architects and
organizers of the successful campaign to defeat the privatization of
Social Security. He is a consultant to the campaigns to end the war in
Iraq, pass universal health care, change America’s budget priorities
and enact comprehensive immigration reform and worked on hundreds of
electoral campaigns from the local to national level. Copies of the book
will be available for purchase at the Library on the day of the event.
The customer information number for the Creamer event on May 14 is
202-727-2014
###############
Georgetown Library Design Meeting, May 22
Martha Saccocio, martha.saccocio@dc.gov
The DC Public Library will host the second in a series of Community
Design Meetings to discuss the renovation of the historic Georgetown
Neighborhood Library, Thursday, May 22, from 6:00-8:00 p.m., at St. John’s
Episcopal Church, Parish Hall, 3240 O Street, NW (Potomac Avenue and O
Street, NW). The architects, Martinez & Johnson, will present
preliminary design concepts and will solicit input from the community.
Residents are encouraged to attend. For more information, visit the
Library’s web site at http://www.dclibrary.org.
###############
themail@dcwatch is an E-mail discussion forum that is published every
Wednesday and Sunday. To change the E-mail address for your subscription
to themail, use the Update Profile/Email address link below in the
E-mail edition. To unsubscribe, use the Safe Unsubscribe link in the
E-mail edition. An archive of all past issues is available at http://www.dcwatch.com/themail.
All postings should be submitted to themail@dcwatch.com,
and should be about life, government, or politics in the District of
Columbia in one way or another. All postings must be signed in order to
be printed, and messages should be reasonably short — one or two brief
paragraphs would be ideal — so that as many messages as possible can
be put into each mailing.
