Recommendations
Dear Recommenders:
I’d like your recommendations in three areas. First, what are your
recommendations for slimming the DC government in light of our projected
fiscal shortfall? We know the likely choices that the mayor and city
council will make: cut special education, disability services, homeless
programs, and so on, so that the government can continue to afford
funding sports stadiums and selling off city buildings at bargain
basement prices. But if it were your job to take a blue pencil to the
budget, what would you cut that would cause the least pain or would even
improve city government?
Second, a while ago I wrote about new hamburger restaurants in the DC
area; now I’d like to get your thoughts about another unfashionable
cuisine: Asian buffets. I’m not talking about dim sum restaurants, but
about the Asian equivalent of American buffet restaurants like Old
Country Buffet, Great American Buffet, and Golden Corral. Asian or
American, buffets specialize in cheap and abundant food. They charge one
price for all you can eat, and they are experts at making the cheapest
and most filling foods look the most appetizing. In an American buffet,
the trick is to get customers to pick up a roll to go with the baked
potato, macaroni and cheese, and cornbread stuffing. In Asian buffets,
the trick is to offer sushi rather than sashimi, and to make sure there
is a big ball of rice in each piece. At a good buffet, the diner’s
reward is not subtle and delicate flavors, but the pain of a distended
stomach and the groaning complaint, “I ate too much again.”
Asian buffets are mostly Chinese, but they can also be Japanese and
Korean, and they’re frequently a combination. I understand the Asian
buffet trend has been going on along the East coast for almost ten years
now, but Dorothy and I are late to catch up to it. Today, Dorothy and I
ate at Todai in Fair Oaks Mall. It is part of an international Korean
chain that serves primarily Japanese food. Todai is the first
Washington-area Asian buffet we’ve gone to. From what I gather from
customer reviews online, it’s a few dollars more expensive than most,
but it’s also probably the best of its type in this area. However,
buffet restaurants of any type are too declasse to be reviewed by
professional food critics, so I’m asking for your expertise. What are
the best and worst Asian buffets you’ve been to, and what dishes do
you recommend, or recommend avoiding?
Third, we’re thinking of planting some azaleas. DC is an
azalea-rich town, but there aren’t many in Columbia Heights, at least
in our immediate area. So I’m asking for your advice: what are your
favorite varieties; which are the easiest to care for; which thrive best
in our climate and soil; which nurseries have the best and most
affordable selection?
Gary Imhoff
themail@dcwatch.com
###############
Mayor’s Hearing for the Brookland/CUA Metro
Small Area Plan
John Feeley, Jr., johnjfeeleyjr@aol.com
It is more important than ever that we voice our opposition to the
Brookland Metro Small Area Plan. We need to voice our opposition to its
density, to its lack of park and open space, and to its refusal to
acknowledge the intense development proposed for Greater Brookland/
Soldiers’ Home/MacMillan Reservoir area and the infrastructure issues
that must accompany such massive development.
But above and beyond that, the means by which the Brookland Metro
Small Area Plan is being pushed forward by the Mayor’s Office is an
affront to democracy. Copies of the final draft of the Small Area Plan
were made available on September 1. A letter accompanying copies of the
plan described the thirty-day comment period that was to follow. A
previous letter from Ms. Tregoning, director of the Office of Planning,
sent to the Michigan Park Citizens’ Association in June, assured the
community that this comment period would not end before October 3, 2008.
In spite of these assurances, members of the Small Area Plan Advisory
Committee received postcards two days ago informing them that the Mayors’
Hearing on the plan will be held on Tuesday, September 30, in Gowan Hall
on the campus of the Catholic University of America. This is three days
before the end of the comment period. No time was listed.
How are community comments being used by the Mayor’s Office, if the
Mayor’s Hearing occurs before the end of the comment period? Evidently
community comment is not being given any weight. Could it be possible
that the city council is already reviewing the Office of Planning’s
Brookland proposal before this comment period has ended? Nothing seems
to be out of the realm of possibility at this point. Call the Office of
Planning, the Mayor’s office, and Councilman Harry Thomas’ office.
Call our At-Large representatives. Let everyone know that you think this
is an outrage. Contact Harry Thomas, hthomas@dccouncil.us,
724-8028; Office of Planning, Deborah.Crain@dc.gov,
442-7615; Harriet.Tregoning@dc.gov,
Director Office of Planning, 442-7634; Geraldine.Gardner@dc.gov;
and Mayor Adrian Fenty, mayor@dc.gov.
###############
Education Mismanagement
Tonya M. Butler-Truesdale, attytmbt@aol.com
I wish to thank you for your attention to the matter of education in
DC. After four hard but rewarding years as a DCPS special education
hearing officer, I am being replaced by attorneys from other states who
are not licensed to practice in the District of Columbia, a few of whom
have no prior experience with education law or special education.
While I consider reform to be imperative, I have witnessed first hand
the mismanagement of human resources in the school system. I literally
fear for the future of our students. I have also witnessed the fact that
the charter school movement can not deliver on many of the promises
professed.
What I am at a lost to understand is how long the parents will be
silent.
###############
DC Teachers Could Learn a Lot from a Box of
Crayons
Candi Peterson, saveourcounselors@gmail.com
Tuesday, September 23, was a long night for DC teachers and service
providers who attended the Washington Teachers’ Union informational
session meeting at McKinley Senior High. Some had difficulty sustaining
focus as President George Parker delivered his two-hour-plus long
oration, as estimated by some teacher colleagues. Others had to leave
prior to the long awaited interrupted presentation of Attorney Lee
Jackson and the mini question and answer session that followed. The
majority of WTU Executive Board members present demanded that Attorney
Lee Jackson deliver the long-awaited legal opinion to DC teachers. When
union president George Parker failed to adhere to the WTU informational
meeting agenda, board members stood in solidarity in an act of civil
disobedience. What many who have critiqued WTU Executive Board members
to death seem to forget is that in a democratic society and as dues
paying union members, all of us are entitled to weigh in on matters that
impact our occupational futures even when our positions are in
opposition to others.
The object of true democracy is to produce citizens who are
independent thinkers, questioning and analytical in their outlook while
being open to research complex issues. The spirit of democracy
challenges conventional thinking and encourages vigorous debate and
should not ignore discussions or arguments that may be unpleasant or
controversial to some. DC teachers could learn a lot from a box of
crayons: “Some are sharp, some are pretty, some are dull, some have
weird names, and all are different colors, but they have all learned to
live in the same box” (anonymous quote).
###############
DC Public School
Solutions
Tom Blagburn, tblagburn@udc.edu
This was my response to Ms Labson [themail, September 24]: Thanks for
your relevant comments on DC Public Schools (DCPS). I’m not new to
themail, nor to the District of Columbia. I’m a frequent reader and
contributor. But your comments caught my attention. I have been a
lifelong resident of the city. I also served twenty-three years in the
Metropolitan Police Department. In my last assignment I was in charge of
community policing and was the District’s point person for youth
violence and gang/crew prevention. I have served on many mayoral
transitions involving public safety and school safety. I have spent
considerable time in DC Public Schools dealing with many of the
administration, teacher, student, and family problems very few people
want to even remotely address. You are correct in your assumption that
some of what has happened in the school system was “criminal.” A
lot, perhaps, still is criminal.
But there are other issues that many officials of our great city
simply refuse to address aggressively. First, our public schools system
is not a complete failure! There are lots of students in every Ward of
the District attending DCPS who graduate and go forward to some of the
best and most prestigious colleges and universities in this nation. It
is a myth and a misperception to continue to say that DCPS is a complete
failure. I think this a propaganda ploy that is used to show that no
matter how very little is really accomplish even the smallest gains will
be received with a degree of success. It’s part of the public
deception.
The DC Public School system is a bifurcated student population
system: one population of students resides in homes and neighborhoods
where there are many responsible, well-educated adults who nurture,
assist, and help interpret or negotiate the complexities of life each
and every day. Crime and gunshots do not occur daily. The other
population, unfortunately, often doesn’t have anyone to guide them or
help with the enormously complex problems of living. These students
often live in the most blighted and impoverished neighborhood
circumstances imaginable. For many of these students the situation is
generational. Many of the awful human conditions they face have not
improved over the years.
Compounding the problem is that too many of these students are often
misguided by wrong-thinking peers and are forced to concentrate simply
on their personal survival. Substance abuse, psychological health
issues, and incarceration of family members heap enormous stress upon
these students as well. How can studying always be a priority? Far too
many DCPS students witness violence and crime almost daily. It affects
their psyche and their attitudes toward learning as well as the value of
human life. Yet our school system acts as if these problems have zero
bearing on learning. We aren’t witnessing the kind of innovation or
investment in aggressive intervention of tutors, mentors, mental health,
and coordinated socioeconomic support these struggling families so
desperately needed. The response, we do hear, is more police and
expanded security.
Students forced to concentrate on subsistence day to day can often
lose their drive to become proficient in reading and math. These
complicated problems diminish the thirst for education, thus creating
low self esteem, interpersonal conflicts, and internalized anger. And,
yes, despite these awful conditions many students do somehow find their
way to succeed despite these terrible obstacles. However, it is not the
norm. The 50 percent school failure rate looms very large in creating
effective reform.
I have yet to see any educational plan from Dr. Janney or Ms. Rhee
addressing any of these issues. And most leaders in this city have
refused to have a candid discussion about the realities that many of
DCPS students face daily. This is a core issue that continues to impede
any real educational reform progress; it is also why our government hasn’t
solved the problems of high student dropout rates and low test scores
and why so many students are still very ill prepared to enter the
District’s workforce, even after high school graduation!
As I have told our mayor frequently: we can reform our schools
through modernization; improve technology; and hire better principals,
teachers, and staff. But the dominate problem impeding education for all
students isn’t going to change until we face the despicable student
divide that exists in far too many schools within the large number of
blighted neighborhoods across the District. It isn’t my intent to
discount or criticize the efforts of anyone but just to lend a very
necessary perspective on school reform that I fail to witness.
###############
CLASSIFIEDS — EVENTS
DC Public Library Events, September 30
George Williams, george.williams2@dc.gov
Tuesday, September 30, 7:00 p.m., Anacostia Interim Library, 1800
Good Hope Road, SE. Anacostia Book Club: Trading Dreams at Midnight
by Diane McKinney-Whetstone.
###############
Labyrinth Walk, September 30 and November 25
Ed Bruske, euclidarms@yahoo.com
Tuesdays, September 30 and November 25, 6 p.m.-8:45 p.m., Labyrinth
Walk, Washington National Cathedral. Free admission. HSW joins the
Washington National Cathedral for two evenings of contemplative
practices, music, and reflection that is free and open to the public. At
6 p.m. the Cathedral’s Program Manager Terry Lynn Simpson will meet
HSW participant at St. Joseph’s Chapel on the crypt level of the
Cathedral for a brief introduction and history of labyrinths. From 6:30
to 8:30 p.m., participants are welcome to walk the labyrinth while
listening to the melodic sound of harp music.
There is no right or wrong way to walk a labyrinth, since it is an
activity that becomes a metaphor for your own spiritual journey in life.
Some people walk with the intention to address an issue in their lives,
others to pray and meditate. It is helpful to pause before you enter to
center your thoughts on your intention. Walk between the lines of the
circuit, being aware that you are sharing the labyrinth. Allow yourself
time to contemplate what it means for you to be there; honor this space
in your life. The center is a place to pause, reflect and receive
insight. Walking the path back out of the labyrinth is a time for deep
reflection and a chance to consider what it might mean for your daily
living. For many, it is the most fruitful part of the walk. It can lead
to action and renewal. This program will be held at the Washington
National Cathedral, which is located at the intersection of
Massachusetts and Wisconsin Avenues in northwest, 3101 Wisconsin Avenue,
NW. Ages fourteen to adults. RSVP at historydc.org or 383-1828.
###############
Historical Society of Washington, DC, October
1, 4
Ed Bruske, euclidarms@yahoo.com
Wednesday, October 1, 12:00 p.m., High Noon Film at the Historical
Society of Washington, DC, 801 K Street, NW, at Mt. Vernon Square. Free
admission. “Frida” chronicles the life of Frida Kahlo (Salma Hayek)
shared unflinchingly and openly with Diego Rivera (Alfred Molina), as
the young couple took the art world by storm. From her complex and
enduring relationship with her mentor and husband to her illicit and
controversial affair with Leon Trotsky, to her provocative and romantic
entanglements with women, Frida Kahlo lived a bold and uncompromising
life as a political, artistic, and sexual revolutionary. The movie was
nominated for six Academy Awards and won in two categories: Best
Original Score and Best Makeup. The film covers 32 years of Kahlo’s
life from age 15 to her death at age 47, which correspond to the years
1922 through 1954. (A program collaboration of the Mayor’s Office on
Latino Affairs (OLA) and The Historical Society of Washington, DC.)
Adults. RSVP@historydc.org or
383-1828.
Saturday, October 4, 1:00 p.m.-2:30 p.m., Remembering legendary
sportswriter Sam Lacy (1903-2003), at the Historical Society of
Washington, DC, 801 K Street, NW, at Mt. Vernon Square. Free admission.
Don’t miss this illuminating discussion! Dwayne Renal Sims, founder of
the Negro Legends Hall of Fame, uncovers the extraordinary legacy of Sam
Lacy in a talk with his son, Tim. Known for his pioneering work as a
sports writer, Sam Lacy is credited with playing a vital role in
facilitating the integration of the Major League baseball. For fifty
years, he wrote about the achievements and challenges of African
Americans and the Negro National League through Baltimore’s Afro
American newspaper. The sportswriter inherited his pioneering spirit
from his grandfather, Henry Erskine Lacy, who was the first black
detective on the Washington, DC, police force. Perhaps the most amazing
thing about Lacy’s story is not that he covered all the giants of the
twentieth-century sporting world — Joe Louis, Jesse Owens, Jackie
Robinson, Sugar Ray Robinson, and Muhammad Ali, to name a few — but
that he continued to cover sports well into his nineties. Lacy endured
many of the same indignities as Robinson, eating with him in separate
facilities and staying at the same segregated rooming houses. Once they
woke up in the middle of the night to find a cross burning in front of
the rooming house where Robinson and other black journalists were
staying. Lacy faced discrimination in the press box also. Lacy had to
report on some Dodger games from the dugout because he was not allowed
to sit with the other reporters. In New Orleans he was forced to go up
on the roof of the press box, but there he was joined by some white
writers from New York. (A program collaboration of the Smithsonian’s
Anacostia Community Museum and The Historical Society of Washington,
DC.)
Saturday, October 4, 3:00 p.m. Film at the Historical Society of
Washington, DC, 801 K Street, NW, at Mt. Vernon Square. Free admission.
In a career that spanned half a century, Cuban bandleader Frank “Machito”
Grillo embodied Latin Jazz and influenced several generations of
musicians, contributing to a cultural explosion on the international
music scene. Machito weaves together vintage film clips and recordings,
Hollywood production numbers, and one-of-a-kind street performances from
1920s Cuba to contemporary New York. Sensational shows at such hot spots
as the Cotton Club highlight the golden era of Latin Jazz in the 40s and
50s. Musicians Tito Puente, Dizzy Gillespie, Dexter Gordon, and Ray
Barreto share fond memories of the scene while paying tribute to Machito.
Warm and “simpatico,” Machito laughs, reminisces, and plays some of
the hottest Latin Jazz on film anywhere. “Hugely informative, with
astonishing archival footage.” — John Pareles, New York Times
(A program collaboration of the Mayor’s Office on Latino Affairs (OLA)
and The Historical Society of Washington, DC.) (Fourteen to adults) RSVP@historydc.org
or 383-1828.
###############
Spotlight on Design: David Adjaye, October 2
Jazmine Zick, jzick@nbm.org
Thursday, October 2, 6:30-8:00 p.m. Spotlight on Design: David Adjaye.
David Adjaye, principal of London-based Adjaye/Associates, combines
material inventiveness with a conceptual approach to the fundamental
elements of architecture. Hear Adjaye talk about his work on
internationally-recognized projects including the Dirty House in London,
the Nobel Peace Center in Oslo, and the Museum of Contemporary Art in
Denver, Colorado. A book-signing will follow the lecture. Presented with
the National Organization of Minority Architects. $12 Museum and NOMA
Member; $12 Student; $20 Nonmember. 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.
###############
Jazz at the Hisaoka Healing Arts Gallery,
October 3-4
Greg Finch, outreach@smithfarm.com
The Joan Hisaoka Healing Arts Gallery will host the second gallery
reception celebrating Shelters and Shadows on Friday, October 3, from
7:30 to 9:00 p.m. In addition to the usual festive atmosphere, the
reception will include live music by guitarist Richard Padron as a part
of the Duke Ellington Jazz Festival’s Jazz in the ‘Hoods
programming.
The DEJF jazz in the Gallery continues the next night, Saturday,
October 4, with a live performance by guitarist Steve Herberman, also
from 7:30 to 9:00 p.m. For more information, go to http://www.SmithFarm.com/gallery
or phone 483-8600. The gallery is at the Smith Farm Center for Healing
and the Arts, 1632 U Street ,NW.
###############
Oktoberfest celebration at Hard Bargain Farm, October 11, 1:00 to
6:00 p.m., admission $8.00, children seven or younger free. Proceeds
benefit our education programs. No pets, please. Each fall, we open our
gates to the public for a celebration of the season. Enjoy mouthwatering
German food, authentic Bavarian dancing, and other good times. Savor
delicious German food a la carte: bratwurst, potato salad,
sauerkraut, and home made apple strudel. Enjoy high-spirited, authentic
performances of dances from Bavaria and Austria and join Schuhplattler
Alt-Washingtonia on stage for audience-participation waltzes. Shop for
bargains and homemade delicacies at our country store in the gazebo. Hop
on the hay wagon for a ride to the Potomac River. Visit the animals in
the barnyard. Squeeze apple cider with an old fashioned cider press. Bid
on local art, crafts and food items at silent and live auctions. Stop at
our membership table and learn about other Hard Bargain adventures.
Most of all share the good times with friends at Hard Bargain Farm,
2001 Bryan Point Road, Accokeek, MD 20607. For more information, go to http://www.fergusonfoundation.org.
###############
Handgun Safety Seminar Free for DC Residents,
October 13
Ricardo A. Royal, gunsafetycafe@yahoo.com
I am a Firearms Safety Educator, born and raised in a part of Ward 4
that is now in Ward 5. I am the national president of the Community
Association for Firearms Education (CAFE). My friends and I are
committed to encouraging firearms safety training for all law abiding
citizens that own guns. I have given testimony before the DC city
council’s public oversight hearings by the Committee on Public Safety
and the Judiciary, with Phil Mendelson as the chairperson, on July 2 and
September 18 to encourage firearm safety training, starting with the
members of the city council. Since 2003 we have invited elected city
officials to attend free firearms education classes offered by CAFÉ,
but none has chosen to educate himself or herself about firearms safety.
We will continue to encourage folks to be safe with and around guns. We
will provide an option to address the issue of a child’s natural
curiosity about guns through our youth violence prevention and gun
safety program.
First lesson: you are responsible to ensure that no unauthorized
people should be able to access your firearms, regardless of their age.
Recent and future changes in the DC gun law have created questions and
we have the answer to most of them as things are today. CAFÉ is hosting
a handgun safety seminar free for DC residents on Columbus Day, Monday,
October 13, 11:00 a.m., at Meyer Station Nature Center in Odenton, MD.
Prior registration is required to attend. Come on out and get your
questions answered and participate in the activities. You should be
hearing our public service announcement on the radio soon.
For more information or to register you can contact me by E-mail at GunSafetyCAFE@yahoo.com
or by calling 410-956-2236. One other thing; we are not affiliated with
the NRA.
###############
An Evening Dedicated to the Cheetah, October
13
Liz Karch, wizzyliz at comcast dot net
Over thirty years ago, a young lady trained in wine making and grape
growing started up a vineyard with some friends in Oregon. To supplement
her income she got a job at Wildlife Safari working with cheetahs. Thus
began Dr. Laurie Marker’s lifelong journey to save the wild cheetah.
There were thought to be roughly one hundred thousand cheetahs worldwide
in the early 1900’s. Today their numbers today have dwindled to about
12,500, the majority of them living on farmland in Namibia, Africa.
It’s here where Dr. Marker co-founded the Cheetah Conservation Fund
(http://www.cheetah.org), an internationally recognized center of
excellence in research and education on cheetahs and their ecosystems.
She and her dedicated team are working with all stakeholders to achieve
best practice in the conservation and management of the world’s
cheetahs. Your support is vital in helping these beautiful, graceful and
endangered animals to avoid total extinction.
Please join us for a special evening with Dr. Laurie Marker on
October 13, from 6-9:00 p.m. For more information about this event,
check out http://www.dc-cheetah.eventbrite.com.
###############
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.
