Cronies
Dear Cronies:
Three times this year, I’ve alluded to the battle between rival
companies to get the contract to run the DC Lottery. On April 9, I
wrote: “The highly profitable and highly suspect Lottery Board
contract that the administration submitted to the council couldn’t
withstand the most basic questions (http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/04/06/AR2008040602306.html),
and just a day after it was presented to the council it was withdrawn
for ‘further review’ (http://blog.washingtonpost.com/dc/2008/04/breaking_news_lottery_contract.html).”
On May 18, I wrote, “be sure to read Nikita Stewart’s revealing
article on the competition for the DC lottery contract, http://tinyurl.com/5v4ak2.
The competition is really between two large national corporations, but
the decision isn’t being made on the basis of the competence or
capabilities of those corporations, but on which of the companies’
local minority business partners has cultivated better political
contacts. The contest is between Fenty’s fraternity brothers and the
old-timers with decades of local sweetheart deals behind them. It’s a
shame one of these groups has to win.” And on May 25, I wrote that
Acting Attorney General Peter Nickles, “took the lead to push the
lucrative lottery contract that the mayor is supporting for his
fraternity brothers and friends.”
The battle is a classic case of government corruption by cronyism,
with the taxpayers as the suckers caught between two companies
exercising their influence over politicians, and much of the evidence
for that has been published in the Washington Post itself. But
last week, the Post editorial board chose to ignore the facts
established by the paper’s own reporters in order to endorse the
lottery contract bid submitted by Mayor Fenty’s cronies, http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/10/08/AR2008100803252.html.
The editorial scolded the city council for not giving Fenty what he
wants and allowing him to award the contract to his friends and frat
brothers, who have no background in running lotteries, and for not
swallowing whole and without question the promises made in the mayor’s
friends’ bid. As it has in many other cases, the Post advocates
giving Mayor Fenty absolute power and reducing the council’s role to
that of a rubber stamp, asking no questions and having no will of its
own. Giving any politician absolute and unchecked power guarantees
corrupt government, yet this is exactly what the Post has been
promoting since Fenty was elected.
Back on May 18, I said that, “It’s a shame that one of these
groups has to win.” It’s time to recognize that neither group has to
win. The Post wants the mayors’ cronies to profit from the
lottery contract, but Mike DeBonis suggests a much better solution in
City Desk: put the contract up for another bid, http://www.washingtoncitypaper.com/blogs/citydesk/2008/10/10/city-ponders-rebid-on-lottery-contract.
DeBonis wants to exempt the lottery contract from the local and minority
participation requirement, thus cutting out the local political
influence, but it’s unlikely that either the mayor or the council
would agree to a bidding system that wouldn’t have rewards for the
local businesses that will reward them in turn. In any case, let’s
open the process up, invite new and fresh bids, and see what happens.
Two more things: the Office of the State Superintendent of Education
released it five-year strategic plan for education on October 9, http://www.dcpswatch.com/stateed/081009.pdf.
And yesterday Colbert King wrote another of his outstanding and
well-reported columns on the Department of Youth Rehabilitation
Services, “Candor Takes a Beating at Oak Hill,” http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/10/10/AR2008101002557.html.
Why is King alone in the press in investigating the problems in this
Department?
Gary Imhoff
themail@dcwatch.com
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Community Unites in Opposition to Public Land Deal
Amy McVey, amybmcvey@msn.com
ANC Commissioners in the Tenleytown/Friendship Heights area sent a
letter to DC officials last week, strongly urging them to cease
negotiations with LCOR over a public-private project that would involve
the construction of a mixed-use residential building on school and
library land at the corner of Wisconsin and Albemarle Street. The
letter, which has thus far gone unanswered, was addressed to Ward 3
Councilmember Mary Cheh, Mayor Adrian Fenty, and Deputy Mayor Neil
Albert, and was signed by four of the five Commissioners in ANC 3E and
by leaders representing eight local stakeholder groups. The ANC may
consider a resolution regarding this issue at the October 16 public
meeting.
Citing the letter sent last week to Mayor Fenty by the Janney
Elementary School SIT, withdrawing its support for further consideration
of a deal that would deprive this already-overcrowded campus of land
needed for its expansion and outdoor athletic facilities, community
leaders argued for an immediate end of negotiations with LCOR and for
the already-funded, designed, and approved reconstruction of the Tenley-Friendship
branch library to proceed at once as a stand-alone project. The letter
also urged that Janney Elementary School be moved forward in DCPS’s
modernization queue (back-up to number eight), to relieve its
overcrowding and expand the capacity of this Metrorail-accessible Blue
Ribbon school so that it could accommodate more of the 155 students
currently on its wait list for admission.
On July 10, Mayor Fenty announced his selection of LCOR as a
development partner for the site. Subsequent negotiations have failed to
yield an agreement which the DMPED had anticipated would be announced on
October 1. At this point, the District is legally entitled to walk away
from the deal. Both before and after the mayor’s announcement,
Councilmembers Cheh and Brown wrote to the mayor expressing their
dissatisfaction with existing proposals for the site, but neither has
yet called for the abandonment of this project. Councilmember Cheh has
stated she would not accept any undue delay in the rebuild of the
library. Now, three months after the Mayor’s announcement the
community has become even more antagonistic towards this project. It is
clear that a PPP will inevitably cause a multi-year delay in getting a
library and will hinder rather than speed the modernization of Janney
School. A statement/explanation of the Janney’s SIT’s position on
the project can be found at http://www.janneyschool.org/PTASITPPP/Library%20development/librarydevelopment.htm.
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The Residential Permit Parking (RPP) system exists to prevent
commuters from using residential streets as free, all-day parking lots,
compelling them to pay to park in commercial lots. Fair enough, but what
is to be done when there are no commercial lots in the area, and public
transit isn’t suitable? This problem arises, for example, with
teachers and staff of neighborhood schools. Surely we want them to come
to our neighborhood, even if they must come by personal automobile. For
most neighborhoods, the severe parking problem comes not during the day,
when plenty of parking is freed up by residents taking their cars to
work, but at night, when those commuting residents come home.
With Councilmember Graham’s support, Mount Pleasant is about to
undertake an experiment to provide daytime-only parking permits for
commuters to our neighborhood. A limited number of daytime-only parking
permits will be offered, to bona fide Mount Pleasant school and business
employees only, for a fee of $160 a quarter, or about $2.50 per workday.
Our residential streets will thus serve as a rather inexpensive
commercial parking lot, and ideally some of the revenues will be
returned to the neighborhood for our use. With this program in place, it
will be possible to make all of Mount Pleasant RPP-zoned without
imposing a great hardship on our schools and small businesses. That will
end the current crush of parked cars on our few unzoned blocks, while
parking spaces stand vacant on zoned blocks.
This will be the District’s first venture into what is known as a
“Parking Benefit District”: http://transtoolkit.mapc.org/Parking/Strategies/Parking_benefit_district.htm.
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Mara’s Fundraising Continues Momentum
Patrick Mara, patrick@patrickmara.com
DC council at-large candidate Patrick Mara today called the financial
support his campaign has received “gratifying and indicative of coming
victory.” In advance of the official filing of his campaign finance
report with the DC Board of Elections and Ethics, Mara said his campaign
has over $75,000 on hand. “We are well positioned to carry our message
to voters in every neighborhood of the District,” said Mara. “Voters
know that we need council members who support Mayor Fenty’s school
reform efforts, know how to improve efficiency and fiscal management in
DC government, and bring greater integrity and transparency to our
government.”
Mara has proven himself a powerful political force in DC. Not only
has he gained considerable financial support over the past several
months, but he has knocked on the doors of over ten thousand DC voters.
Mara, who holds an MBA, has served on the Board of DC Hope for Kids and
as a mentor in the Hoops Dream Scholarship program, has been endorsed by
Councilman David Catania, the DC Chamber of Commerce, and the
Metropolitan Washington Board of Trade. “When I look people in the eye
and tell them what I think, they know they are getting absolute truth.
It must be the Eagle Scout in me,” said Mara. “Whatever it is, the
council needs more of it.”
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Schwartzman for Council at-Large: True
Citizens’ Advocate
Debby and John Hanrahan, johnhanrahan5@yahoo.com
As forty-year residents of the District of Columbia, we have too
often seen DC council and mayoral candidates campaign as the voice of
the people only to morph into mouthpieces for developers and the
business community soon after they take office. In the November 4
general election for two council at-large seats (one of which by law
must go to a minority party member — i.e., a non-Democrat or an
independent), DC voters have a rare opportunity to cast one of their
votes for a true pro-citizen candidate, David Schwartzman of the DC
Statehood Green Party: A candidate who takes no contributions from
corporate interests, who has been active for more than three decades on
behalf of low- and middle-income people, who believes in open government
and access to council members for citizens (and not behind-the-scenes
cronyism), who wants real democracy — i.e., statehood — for the
District of Columbia and not the sham
one-DC-vote-in-the-House-and-another-House-seat (and electoral
vote-for-Utah) plan so favored by the city’s political leaders.
David brings solid credentials to his council bid: An environmental
scientist with a Ph.D. and M.S. from Brown University and a B.S. from
City College of New York, he has since 1973 been a member of the Howard
University faculty, where he is a full professor. An authority on DC
government budgets and finance, David has testified before the council
dozens of times over the years on fiscal and other matters — sometimes
for the DC Statehood Green Party, other times for the Fair Budget
Coalition of which he is a member. He is a committed environmentalist
and union supporter (a one-time member of the taxi drivers’ Teamsters’
local in Rhode Island, and in DC a member of the Justice for Janitors
and Local 25 campaigns).
In 2004, current council members Kwame Brown, Marion Barry, and
Vincent Gray all campaigned against public financing for the baseball
stadium (something Schwartzman has long opposed, as well as opposing
subsidies for other professional sports and corporate boondoggles) —
and then once in office, all voted for public financing. Having known
David for thirty years, we can assure you that he does not flip-flop,
that he keeps his word and will not renege on campaign promises or come
into office with a hidden agenda. For example, in the current campaign,
Mike DeBonis (“Loose Lips” of the City Paper,) while not
endorsing Schwartzman or his positions on issues, gave him an “A”
grade at a recent candidates’ forum. DeBonis pointed to Schwartzman’s
“candor” for telling the audience that the richest DC residents
would have to pay more in taxes in order for the city government to
spend more on human services programs. In that regard, David has
proposed making “our regressive DC tax structure for families and
individuals both progressive and more capable of meeting the challenges”
of increasing funding for the social services budget, the Housing
Production Trust Fund, TANF (temporary assistance for needy families),
the local rent supplement program, child care, job training, and
substance abuse treatment. Unlike other candidates who may promise
needed increases for social programs but fudge on how these would be
paid for, David forthrightly states that he would seek a modest tax
increase — similar to what Maryland recently did — for the top one
to five percent of DC residents. This increase, he says, “will
generate hundreds of millions of dollars per year in additional revenue.”
In recent years, we have time and again heard citizens and activist
groups complain of their inability to get timely meetings with key
members of the DC council on urgent issues ranging from environmental
and union concerns to library issues to public property disposal issues
to the abrupt, brutal Franklin School homeless shelter closing. With
David Schwartzman on the council, voters could be assured that they will
have a member who will have a true open-door policy and who views the
office as a place where ordinary citizens not big campaign contributors
or corporate lobbyists whose largesse shapes the views of too many of
our current Council members — will have a real advocate.
We would note that in past campaigns, environmental and labor
organizations have too often ignored DC Statehood Green or truly
independent candidates in their endorsements, and instead have endorsed
candidates perceived as winners but whose labor and environmental
credentials were flimsy or even suspect. I would hope these
organizations will do better this time around, and endorse Schwartzman,
who is truly in line with their positions, for one of the at-large
seats.
We urge voters to go to David’s web site — http://www.davidschwartzman.com
— for full biographical details and a record of his accomplishments
over the years, as well as his responses to a dozen candidates’
questionnaires from gay and lesbian, labor, environmental, education,
and other activist and nonpartisan organizations. And then vote for
David on November 4.
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Columbus Day Trash and Recycling Schedules
Nancee Lyons, nancee.lyons@dc.gov
The Department of Public Works has announced the suspension of the
following services in observance of Columbus Day on Monday, October 13.
There will be no trash and recycling collections. All Monday trash and
recycling collections will “slide” to the next day. Trash and
recycling containers should be put out for collection no earlier than
6:30 p.m. the night before collection and removed from public space by
8:00 p.m. on the day of collection. Trash and recycling collections in
once-a-week collection neighborhoods will “slide” to the next day.
For example, Monday’s collections will be made on Tuesday, Tuesday’s
collections will be made on Wednesday, and so on. In neighborhoods with
twice-weekly trash collections, Monday and Thursday collections will be
made Tuesday and Friday, and Tuesday and Friday collections will be made
Wednesday and Saturday.
DPW will suspend enforcement of parking meters, residential parking,
and rush hour lane restrictions. It also will suspend towing of
abandoned vehicles. Ft. Totten Trash Transfer Station, located at 4900
Bates Road, NE (open weekdays 1:00 p.m. to 5:00 p.m. and Saturdays from
8:00 a.m. to 3:00 p.m.), will be closed Monday. It will reopen Tuesday
for residents to bring bulk trash. The Benning Road Trash Transfer
Station, at 3200 Benning Road, NE, and the Ft. Totten Trash Transfer
Station are open every Saturday from 8:00 a.m. to 3:00 p.m. to receive
residents’ unwanted toxic items, such as pesticides, batteries, and
motor oil. Electronics, including televisions, computers and cell
phones, will be accepted. Residents also may bring up to five boxes of
personal paper documents and credit cards to be shredded for free.
Other services suspended for Columbus Day include scheduled street
and alley cleaning, graffiti removal, and nuisance abatement. To view
DPW’s trash and recycling holiday schedule for the remainder of the
year, visit http://www.dpw.dc.gov and click on Holiday Schedule under
the “Information” header or call the Mayor’s Citywide Call Center
at 311 or 727-1000 if calling from outside the District.
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Watch Out for Deer on Military Road in Rock Creek Park
Phil Shapiro, pshapiro@his.com
If you’re driving across the park on Military Road during twilight,
keep an eye out for deer. On weekends the deer go drinking in Rock
Creek. Then the male deer start showing off by dodging cars on Military
Road. It’s not a pretty sight. Deer will be deer, but if you hit one,
the price can be — dear.
As they say, fore-antlered is forewarned. Oh, dear. Doe is me.
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A glimpse into a Washington Teachers’ Union Executive Board
meeting: I was at a loss for words when WTU President George Parker
banged the gavel, announcing the October 11 executive board meeting was
adjourning early at 11:00 a.m. Given that we had conducted little
business, DC teachers have just lost millions of dollars in a
retroactive pay increase, and our teacher pay package/tentative
agreement is still in limbo, I was frankly surprised. I, like some of my
fellow executive board members, had come to this meeting with the
explicit purpose of inquiring about the status of our tentative
agreement and the report that there was a possible impasse, as well as
learning the WTU’s future plans.
What I heard from George Parker’s lips was news to me. He said that
Washington Post reporter Bill Turque misquoted him in an October
3 article, saying that the union may be headed towards arbitration. In
this story, Turque reported that Parker stated that the union would take
whatever steps necessary to protect its members, including “court
proceedings, arbitration, and teacher job actions.”
In Saturday’s Board meeting, Parker announced that the WTU has not
yet concluded teacher contract negotiations. We learned that the WTU
wants a teacher contract that includes due process rights and serves the
children of DC public schools. Neither side seems headed for impasse,
despite Rhee’s recent announcement in the press that she will forego
stalled talks and take matters into her own hands. Parker admits he has
yet to meet with the WTU negotiating team to discuss the future of
teacher contract talks.
I agree with Walter Wood’s comments in his letter to the editor in
the October 10 Post, “I am appalled that George Parker, the
Washington Teachers’ Union president, is not willing to show
leadership and move the negotiations along. . . . Mr. Parker must step
up to the plate and lead.” DC teachers’ biggest roadblock to
reaching a tentative agreement is the failure of our union president to
make a decision by either resuming teacher contract talks, bringing the
tentative agreement to a membership vote, or declaring an impasse.
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A Telling Vote
Ed T. Barron, edtb1@macdotcom
If the teachers in DC Public Schools are ever allowed to vote on the
pay proposal offered by school Chancellor Rhee it will be a very telling
vote. Those who are good teachers will likely vote for the proposed pay
system. Those who are marginal, or bad, teachers will surely vote
against the proposal. If there is ever a vote we’ll find out just how
many good teachers are in the DCPS system. In the meantime Rhee will
weed out the poorest teachers using “Plan B.”
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“DC Teachers Want to Vote” Petition
Jacqueline Mann, drjackiemann@hotmail.com
A petition is available at http://www.petitiononline.com/wtuvote/petition.html
for all members of the Washington Teachers Union.
Many teachers support some of the ideas included in the proposed
teachers contract. We want to see this contract in writing. However,
many of us work in hostile environments, where opposing viewpoints are
not welcomed. This petition is our way of letting the Union know that
there are many of us who want to actually read and vote on the contract,
not just discuss the contract in public forums.
I believe we should be able to cast our votes privately on such a
controversial issue. When I find out how to make the signatures hidden,
I will do so in order that all may feel comfortable signing the
petition.
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How Do I Get Mine?
Ed T. Barron, edtb1@macdotcom
As an avowed anti-terrorist I may well be a target for terrorism here
in DC. I think it would make my abode much safer to have my property
surrounded by security bollards like those that are all over the city
protecting federal buildings and soon to surround Union Station. How do
I get my bollards? I’d like them to be very close together to prevent
a bomb-laden cyclist from penetrating my property boundary. Fortunately,
with the new gun laws, I’ll be able to mount a few fifty caliber
hunting rifles in my windows to protect me from pedestrians carrying
packages or suitcases approaching my front door.
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Last week I wrote about my neighborhood’s issue with a street light
[themail, October 5]. As coincidence would have it, the light was
repaired this past Monday (October 6). The irony is that the light now
stays on twenty-four hours a day, but for a neighborhood in the dark for
so long, the residents gladly accept that. As for the reason why it took
so long, Jeff Merudian (DDOT’s Customer Service Manager) said that the
light had no electrical current, and the electrical line was next to a
gas line. Apparently, it took six weeks to get permission from
Washington Gas to make the repairs in vicinity of the gas line. While he
apologized for the delay, he did admit that someone should have been
able to contact my neighbors and myself with the reason for the delay.
He agreed that something as simple as informing the residents could have
reduced the calls, angst, time spent, and overall disappointment in city
services.
I highlight this example because in a city that is driven by “world
class” customer service, keeping the residents properly informed seems
to be a basic requirement that is missed. From construction projects,
traffic delays, or other minor inconveniences, this city must do a
better job informing the citizens. Part of the frustration I had with
the streetlight issue and others, is that there seems to be no
accountability when it comes to properly informing citizens. While this
city seems to do a good job at contracting work, asking the “contractor”
performing the work is no substitute for true customer service. Citizens
are often the last to find out about things pertinent to our
communities, causing some to likely think clandestine operations are
afoot. Sometimes it is the inverse, in that we are oversaturated by
mayoral photo-ops, but at a deficit for things that are truly
substantive to the citizens.
Sometimes the marketing for the District of Columbia’s Customer
Service is better than the actual Customer Service itself. It seems that
every photo on the DC.GOV front page has Mayor Fenty in it. I liken it
to O Magazine, in which Oprah Winfrey is on every cover. Clearly
there are more noteworthy images of citizens and District services that
can be on this site, sans Fenty. However, in order for citizens to get
good customer service, we must request . . . demand it. We shouldn’t
tolerate anything less.
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Why Allow Campaigning at All?
Qawi Robinson, Qrobinso@lycos.com
I must say that I’m surprised by the latest intro to the “electioneers”
about how to properly post to themail [themail, October 8]. Most of us
with something pertinent to say know the rules on how to post and get it
accepted. While I respect Paul Craney’s commentary on Michael Brown [themail,
October 8], this kind of shadow anti-campaigning really shouldn’t have
a place on themail. I say this because slowly but surely this type of
posting will make themail a partisan blog — based solely on who
E-mails first. Over the years, I have made commentaries and criticisms
on all politicians and city agencies in which I received experiences.
All of this was shared on themail for the benefits of DC citizens and
its readers. My choice for mayor, at-large councilmember, etc., is my
choice, much like it is an individual choice for each citizen. However,
these choices are irrelevant for themail. Why? Because as much as I
enjoy the political process, campaigning on themail seems more than a
little “self-serving” for the parties as well as the candidates.
There is no net benefit for the masses. If campaigning must be part of
themail, then I kindly suggest putting it in the CLASSIFIEDS section, so
that bloggers won’t confuse it with real news and commentary.
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ANC’s and Alcoholism
Mary Beatty, mbbeatty@aol.com
I’m responding to Dwayne Smith’s statement that a single ban
discriminates against the poor [themail, October 8]. Actually, the price
of a single can of beer is more discriminatory to the working poor,
since a single can of beer costs more per unit than when bought in a
multi-pack. In fact, this might be considered predatory pricing against
the poor.
With regard to focusing on “root causes” of unacceptable
behaviors associated with singles, which Mr. Smith lists as “addiction,
lack of jobs, education, and law enforcement,” I would assert that
none of these “root causes” is within the authority or purview of
ANC’s. Why don’t we just ask ANC’s to cure the common cold while
they are curing alcoholism, solving unemployment, resolving the
education problems in the city, and making sure that every law is
enforced and every crime is prosecuted?
We are elected to maintain and improve the quality of life for the
residents within our boundaries, so we use the tools that we have. A
moratorium or legislative ban on singles is one of the tools we can use
to reduce the repercussions of public drinking (which, by the way, is
illegal). The things that we can impact with a singles ban are loitering
on our streets, the litter in our neighborhoods, and the public
urination in our neighborhood alleys and on walls. ANC6A is very proud
that we were able to accomplish this for a portion of H Street, and
would like to see the same benefits across the city.
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Due to Lack of Adequate Social Services, Have Beer?
Ernesto Gluecksmann, ernestoglue@gmail.com
In response to Dwayne L. Smith, “Singles Ban Discriminates Against
the Working Poor,” I am not convinced of his point. What I’m
inferring from his argument is that due to perceived lack of services to
treat alcohol addiction, lack of well paying jobs, lack of quality
education, and lack of sufficient law enforcement, we should not ban
singles because that actually provides a type of beneficial service for
the “working poor.” Huh?
I do absolutely agree with Mr. Smith in that it is a tourniquet on a
wound. But in some of our neighborhoods of DC, there are battles raging
day and night, and until we get around to solving these complex social
ills, a tourniquet may just be all that can be done at the moment. I
prefer my tax dollars go towards police officers focused on violent
crime than wasting time having to check up the local drunk that’s
passed out on the park bench or urinating behind the alley. Multiplied
across the city, several times a day, that is the wasted time that turns
into the hidden costs that ultimately distress the social services that
Mr. Smith feels are inadequate to begin with. We’re only adding fuel
to the fire by allowing the sales of singles.
In addition, as aggressively as local alcohol vendors have come out
in support of this “discrimination of the working poor” argument,
with claims of excessive losses to business (some saying they would have
to shut down all together), only leaves me with further distaste for
their side. To me, that starts to reek of profitable exploitation and it
only reminds me of the very same unfounded dire claims that were thrown
around when the city was deciding whether or not to enact the smoking
ban. Look, with all the tangible benefits that have been seen from
certain areas of the city that have enacted the ban (reduced public
alcoholism and urination, reduced littering, reduced loitering, etc.), I
just don’t see compelling enough arguments not to make it a citywide
ban.
If that means some of us are going to have save an extra couple of
bucks and wait a few days to pick up that six-pack we want after work,
fine. Is that really an undue burden on the working poor? I don’t
think so. That’s reasonable and prudent sacrifice that we probably can’t
afford not to make.
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CLASSIFIEDS — EVENTS
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 6:00-9:00 p.m. For more information about this event,
check out http://ww.dc-cheetah.eventbrite.com.
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National Building Museum Events, October 14, 17 and following
Jazmine Zick, jzick@nbm.org
Tuesday, October 14, 6:30-8:00 p.m., Palladianism in America.
Celebrate the five hundredth anniversary of the birth of Andrea Palladio
— one of the most influential architects of all time. Washington,
DC-based architect Warren Cox will discuss Palladio’s work, in
particular his writings in The Four Books of Architecture, and
how it has influenced architecture, specifically American design, over
the centuries. $12 Member; $12 Student; $20 Nonmember. Prepaid
registration required. Walk-in registration based on availability.
Register for events at http://www.nbm.org.
October 17, 19, 24, 28; November 3, 16, 23. 8:00-9:00 p.m. Ghost
Tours. Explore the National Building Museum’s haunted past on this
lantern-light tour led by the ghost of Mary Surratt. Who are the
irritable rider on horseback and the footless figure? Why are there
mysterious faces swirling in the Corinthian columns? And, why do these
ghosts (and more!) call the National Building Museum their home? All
will be revealed on this behind-the-scenes tour of the mysteries of the
Museum. $12 Member; $18 Nonmember. Prepaid registration required;
recommended for ages ten and older. Member preregistration begins on
September 5. General registration begins September 12. Register online
at http://www.nbm.org or call 272-2448. Both at the National Building
Museum, 401 F Street, NW, Judiciary Square stop, Metro Red Line.
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Upcoming Talk for Change Toastmasters Meeting, October 15
Emily Cohen, tfctoastmasters@gmail.com
Please join us this Wednesday, October 15 at 6:45 p.m. for our next
meeting of Talk for Change Toastmasters. We meet at the Teach for
America offices, located at 1413 K Street, NW, on the seventh floor.
Talk for Change Toastmasters is a public speaking group that helps
members improve their speaking and leadership skills in a supportive and
constructive environment. Some of us are former teachers and alumni of
Teach For America. Some of us are making a difference in our community
through work in the nonprofit sector.
Are you curious what Talk for Change can do for you? Join us at an
upcoming meeting to see what we are all about. We meet on the first and
third Wednesdays of every month. We look forward to welcoming you as our
newest member! If you have questions, feel free to send us an E-mail at tfctoastmasters@gmail.com.
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DC Public Library Events, October 13, 15-16
George Williams, george.williams2@dc.gov
Monday, October 13, 6:30 p.m., Martin Luther King, Jr., Memorial
Library, second floor, east lobby. All the World’s a Stage Film Club:
Reel History, Real Lives. Film screening for the October 28 book
discussion will be Catch a Fire (PG-13) (2006).
Wednesday, October 15, 7:00 p.m., Watha T. Daniel/Shaw. Book Club
Meeting.
Thursday, October 16, 4:00 p.m., Watha T. Daniel/Shaw. Teen “Any
Book” Club. Discuss the book you are currently reading for fun with
other teens.
Thursday, October 16, 6:00 p.m., Chevy Chase Library. Author talk by
Joyce Burnett. Adam’s Belle: A Memoir of Love Without Bounds,
by Isabel Washington Powell and Joyce Burnett. The memoir of the ex-wife
of Adam Clayton Powell, Adam’s Belle: A Memoir of Love without
Bounds chronicles the Harlem Renaissance, the civil rights movement,
and Powell’s life after divorce. Written by Powell with Joyce Burnett,
the book also features her sister Fredi Washington, the actor best known
as the girl passing for white in the 1934 film Imitation of Life.
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Historical Society of Washington, DC, October 14-15
Ed Bruske, euclidarms@yahoo.com
Tuesday, October 14, 12:00 p.m., Historical Society of Washington,
DC, 801 K Street, NW, at Mt. Vernon Square. High noon film: The Night
James Brown Saved Boston, 74 minutes, 2007, Dir. David Leaf. Free
admission. April 5, 1968, the morning after one of the most catastrophic
moments in American history: the assassination of Martin Luther King.
The night before, America’s inner cities began going up in flames. The
night before, there was trouble in Roxbury, Boston’s ghetto. Word on
the street is that it’s about to get worse. A lot worse. At Boston’s
City Hall, Mayor Kevin White is trying to figure out what he can do to
keep the fragile peace. Reportedly, he’s about to cancel that day’s
biggest gathering — a long-scheduled James Brown concert at the Boston
Garden. Then, a call from one of Boston’s most influential R&B DJ’s
to the lone black city councilman; he points out the danger of that
decision. Simply, he says, if the concert is canceled, Boston might have
the biggest uprising since the Boston Tea Party. And so, faced with the
grim reality of making the wrong decision, the mayor and his team turn
it around. Rather than cancel the show, they ask, “Is there something
James Brown can do to help?” On April 5, 1968, Mayor White wants to
know if JB will encourage his fans to stay home and watch the concert on
television. Brown agrees. Even in this bleakest of moments, James knows
his job is to go on-stage and give the people a reason not to riot. He
puts on a mesmerizing show. James Brown kept the peace in one of America’s
most racially inflammatory cities. And he did that just by being James
Brown — setting the stage of the Boston Garden on fire. And the city
itself didn’t burn. Boston remained peaceful and the night became
legendary. And the story of that night is at the heart of the film, “The
Night James Brown Saved Boston.” RSVP@historydc.org
or 383-1828.
Tuesday, October 14, 6:30 p.m.-8:00 p.m. Historical Society of
Washington, DC, 801 K Street, NW, at Mt. Vernon Square. Free admission.
Distinguished lecturer: Deborah Willis. 1968: Then and Now. 2008 marks
the fortieth anniversary of one of the most tumultuous years in American
history that lives on in our hearts and minds. This lecture will explore
through letters, photographs, paintings, prints, video, and installation
art from a multi-varied group of artists and social activists who
transformed our understanding of identity, resistance, war, and peace.
The lecture will include over twenty artists and musicians whose works
were inspired by the events of the 1960s. Music was also a prolific form
of protest that captured the fervor of the time. Many artists decided to
use their fame and exposure to speak out. In April, the musical “Hair”
officially opened on Broadway. Otis Redding released “Sittin’ on the
Dock of the Bay,” The Rascals pledged that “People Got to be Free,”
Sly and the Family Stone proclaimed “Dance to the Music,” Aretha
Franklin told the world to “Think,” James Brown saluted, “Say It
Loud, I’m Black and I’m Proud,” Johnny Cash recorded “Live at
Folsom Prison,” and the Jimi Hendrix Experience released “The Watch
Tower.” Deborah Willis, Ph.D. is Professor of Photography and Imaging,
University Professor, New York University, Tisch School of the Arts. She
is a recipient of the MacArthur Fellow (2000), Guggenheim, and the
Fletcher awards (2005) She is one of the nation’s leading historians
of African American photography and curator of African American culture
and is the author of Reflections in Black: A History of Black
Photographers: 1840 to the Present, New York: W.W. Norton. She is
working on a new book entitled Posing Beauty. RSVP@historydc.org
or 383-1828.
Wednesday, October 15, 12:00 p.m., Historical Society of Washington,
DC, 801 K Street, NW, at Mt. Vernon Square. Free admission. High noon
film: High noon film: Through Our Eyes: 30 Years of the DC Latino Story,
26 minutes. Produced for OLA by Maya Advertising and Communications,
Through Our Eyes: 30 Years of the DC Latino Story covers the immigration
wave of Central Americans to Washington DC and their struggles as well
as their civic engagement to address discrimination and create the DC
Office on Latino Affairs to represent the community within the
government. RSVP@historydc.org or 383-1828.
Wednesday, October 15, 12:45 p.m. Historical Society of Washington,
DC, 801 K Street, NW, at Mt. Vernon Square. Free admission. Film: Frida,
123 minutes, 2002, English. “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
thirty-two years of Kahlo’s life from age fifteen to her death at age
forty-seven, 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.) RSVP@historydc.org
or 383-1828.
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At-Large Council Forum, October 24
James S. Bubar, jbubar@aol.com
The DC Affairs Section of the DC Bar is holding a forum for the
candidates for the two at-large positions on the Council, Kwame Brown,
Michael Brown, Carol Schwartz, Patrick Mara, Dee Hunter, Mark Long and
David Schwartzman. The event is October 24, 2008, at lunchtime, at Reed
Smith. Journalists Bruce DePyt, Tom Sherwood, Mark Seagraves and Denise
Rolark Barnes will question the candidates, followed by questions from
the audience. The event is free and you are welcome but space is
limited, so please RSVP to outreach@dcbar.org.
Many thanks!
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