Union Busting
Dear Busters:
In the last issue of themail, I asked for your answers to three
questions. Given the results of the election, and Democratic control of
the presidency and both houses of Congress, what’s your prediction for
whether there will be any substantive change in the local-federal
relationship, what’s your preference for what that change should be,
and what can citizens of the District do to encourage change in the
direction you prefer?
In this issue of themail, only two correspondents, Len Sullivan and
Michael Bindner, have answered these questions. I’d like to encourage
more of you to play political prognosticator and political sage, and to
send in your replies. After all, whatever your guess, whatever you think
will happen, can’t be any farther from the truth than what Mayor Fenty
and Chancellor Rhee think will happen. Thanks to the good reporting of
Bill Turque, commented on by Candi Peterson below, we now know that
Fenty and Rhee think that the Obama administration and the Democratic
Congress will be eager to help them break government worker unions,
starting with the teachers union. Whatever you write, you’ll look like
a genius compared with Fenty and Rhee.
Gary Imhoff
themail@dcwatch.com
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Union busting is a practice considered by some to be unethical when
it is undertaken by an employer. It is the process that some employers
may use to prevent their employees from joining a labor union, or to
fire their already organized workforce and hire nonunion labor. Sunday’s
Washington Post story, “Fenty, Rhee Look for Ways Around the
Union,” by reporter Bill Turque, http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/11/15/AR2008111502456.html,
revealed that the mayor and Chancellor are considering restoring the
District’s power to create nonunionized charter schools and are
possibly seeking federal legislation declaring the school system in a
“state of emergency,” a move that, the Post reports, would
eliminate the need to bargain with the Washington Teachers Union. Could
their strategy be union busting?
Before you answer, here are some of the tactics of typical union
busters. Sound vaguely familiar to what’s happening in DC? Some of the
tactics of union busters include proposing increases in pay and
unexpected perks, utilizing employee scare tactics and a
divide-and-conquer approach, stating that they want to be their
employees’ pal, piling on pressure from agency supervisors, promoting
a litany of negative press about unions, and demanding one-on-one
meetings and captive audience meetings with their employees.
If you’ve not had enough of city government worker horror stories,
DC City Desk tells another union busting story about former DC teacher
Harold Cox, who was fired at the beginning of school year 2008 (http://www.prorev.com/freedc.htm,
November 15). I think this story is a must read for all of us. It
provides a glimpse into Fenty and Rhee’s tactics, which rob our
students of many qualified DC teachers who happen to be union members.
Like Harold Cox, Denise Hamilton and Fred Kamara, blind teachers in DCPS,
also lost their teaching jobs earlier this school year. Have you lost
count of how many certified DC teachers have lost their jobs in DCPS? I
know I have. Here is Harold Cox’s story, as reported in City Desk by
Sam Smith: “Former DC teacher Harold Cox is the definition of a
dedicated teacher. A twenty-one year teaching veteran, Cox worked hard
inside and outside the classroom, frequently staying late after class to
work with students and lobbying DC City Council to address problems in
the schools. So Cox was shocked when he was fired, without any
explanation, at the beginning of the school year. Like hundreds of other
summarily-dismissed teachers, aides and principals, Cox was forced to
reapply for his position as part of DC School Chancellor Michelle Rhee
and Mayor Adrian Fenty’s controversial plan to fix the ailing DC
public schools. But Cox now says that he thinks ‘Rhee was brought in
to break the union’ and that the ‘hiring process had little to do
with guaranteeing teaching standards and everything to do with
strong-arming teachers to make concessions union have fought off for
years.’ For example, when Cox reapplied for his job, he discovered
that the principal of the school was insisting that teachers ‘sign an
agreement which included extending teaching hours,’ a clear violation
of their union contract. When Cox refused to sign, he ‘was sent
packing.’” Union busting or not ? You tell me.
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It will be interesting to see what the Fenty campaign comes up with
as Fenty’s successes under public education. Jack Evans and Anthony
Williams lambasted past superintendent Paul Vance for doing little more
than “moving the deck chairs around on the Titanic.” Have we seen
anything more than that with this administration?
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Coming Soon
Ed T. Barron, edtb1@macdotcom
That’s what the sign says on the place being renovated at the
corner of 49th Street and Massachusetts Avenue, NW. Formerly Bagel City,
the new place will be called Le Pain Bakery and Communal Table. After
several -places have failed in this location (liquor store, florist,
Balduccis, and Bagel City) one can only hope that this new place
succeeds. Nice to have a real bakery nearby and a place to eat breakfast
or lunch.
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Tuesday I submitted a Veteran’s Day story with photos to NowPublic
highlighting Tom Sherwood’s disrespectful attitude towards just about
everyone on that day. NowPublic article: http://tinyurl.com/5c7r5r.
In particular, I pointed out how he sat in a double parked car on
Constitution Avenue reading a newspaper while his cameraman/driver
collected news video of the DC Veterans Day rally. On Wednesday, I
opened the latest edition of a local shopper tabloid to amuse myself
with the real estate ads when I noticed “Tom Sherwood’s Notebook.”
Twice in his first paragraph, Sherwood criticized President-elect Obama
for causing traffic problems in DC. I guess NBC fired the hypocrisy
checkers along with the proofreaders and the copy editors, but they kept
the self-important Sherwood. Sherwood’s “do as I say, not as I do”
article is on, page 10: http://tinyurl.com/622tjp.
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The Hypocrite
Ed T. Barron, edtb1@mac.com
Our newest resident-to-be, Obama, has avidly promoted public schools
and public education while bashing vouchers and charter schools —
those very schools that have enabled many of DC’s students to get a
good education. So, where will our new President enroll his own
children? Not in the public schools here in DC. He will enroll them in
one of the high-priced private schools. That’s hypocritical.
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Improving the Federal/Capital City
Relationship
Len Sullivan, lsnarpac@bellatlantic.net
Gary has posited three questions [themail, November 12] important
enough to stir NARPAC ( http://www.narpac.org)
from self-imposed hibernation. The incoming federal administration
presents an extraordinary opportunity for our national capital city to
earn its rightful place at the table with the federal government it
hosts. But this will require a major change in the DC’s collective
mentality. Apologists notwithstanding, neither the presence of, nor the
actions of, the federal government have caused the core city of our
national capital metro area to generate way less than half of the area’s
wealth, or way more than half of the area’s endemic poverty with its
accompanying crime, illiteracy, school dropouts, teen pregnancies, and
fatherless households. If our national capitol was moved elsewhere, DC’s
residual population would fall to barely Third World status.
NARPAC’s desired changes are that DC accept, in fact exploit, its
dual roles: as host to our American federal government and as the
central hub of one of the world’s most important, thoroughly
homogenized, metropolitan areas. Although US metro areas are not per
se represented in Congress, they have become the basic twenty-first
century subdivisions of national political and economic strength, as
well as the most appropriate recipients of much federal largesse.
The prerequisites for DC partnership in national government center on
a fundamental shift in both governing and constituent mindset from that
of a whining, sulking “nobody loves me,” “you owe me”
adolescent, to that of an “I can help” adult anxious to join the
world’s most important team. Stop pretending that residents are
helpless without a full voice in Congress. Stop dreaming about mythical
resources to be gained by becoming the smallest, poorest state. Stop
goading our new world leader into risking his kids’ future in one the
worst US urban school systems. Stop reviving dishonest CFO-endorsed
assertions of a huge fiscal “structural imbalance” due to the
federal presence. Stop trying to run the municipal government (and its
school system) as some swaggering macho replay of a Grade B movie. Stop
visualizing DC as an isolated insular entity surrounded by ugly rich
aliens. Stop seeking cheap, local, amusement-class infrastructure
additions that disavow regional interdependence. Grow up, DC, or miss
out on your future!
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Three Answers in themail
Michael Bindner, mikeybdc at yahoo dot com
I predict that at the very least voting rights in the House will be
enacted. I have strong hopes that some type of representation in the
Senate will come about as well, either with two additional seats or
voting through Maryland for the Senate. This will only come about,
however, if District voters demand it from Eleanor Holmes Norton. The
prospect of Senate voting rights through Maryland would have her want
nothing at all instead, even though such an arrangement would have no
constitutional problems at all. Of course, the preferred situation is
statehood. However, this would take some work, including negotiating a
deal with Maryland and Virginia to take our felons from the Feds in
exchange for foregoing commuter taxes, and in getting Norton to amend
H.R. 51 to shrink the residual District of Columbia to just the Capitol
grounds and Senate and House Office Buildings (where the workers pay
their taxes back home rather than in the region).
Voting rights is only part of the story. What DC elected leaders
should focus on is the appointment of an Administrator for the National
Capital Service Area, since this would lead to reimbursement agreements
to provide services to the area, as well as a large back payment for all
of those years when the Feds dodged this payment by simply refusing to
appoint someone to make that deal.
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Jim Graham Responsive on WMATA?
Christopher Jerry, cjerrydc@gmail.com
All due respect to Mr. Sobelsohn, who wrote in the last edition of
themail [November 12]: “I believe Graham rightly considers that, in
sitting on the WMATA Board, he represents the entire city. . . .“ But,
if that is the case, I wonder why Mr. Graham, Mayor Fenty’s appointee
to the six-person principal Metro Board members, allowed for the paper
bus transfer system to be removed, if he at all cares about the entire
city? In Graham’s Ward 1, newly gentrified and upscale, most people
probably are not effected by the removal of the transfer policy. In my
part of the city, east of the Anacostia River where the most
transit-dependent people live, the elimination of the paper transfer
system, while reducing some fraud, will also double and in some cases
triple the cost of a one-way ride on the bus. Metro has not been very
effective in notifying people of this change. Many folks I talk to have
no clue what is about to go into effect on January 1, 2009.
The fact is as far as DC’s representation on the Metro Board is
concerned, east of the river has not had a primary member of the Metro
Board for at least twenty years, if ever. Marion Barry has been an
alternate, but alternates vote only when the primary is not available.
That often leads to people like Graham, Evans, and others who have been
the main person from the council on the Board being tone deaf when it
comes to how those who depend on the bus are affected by fare increases
and service cuts. Yes, I know, everyone should get onboard and get a
Smartrip card so they don’t have to pay when they transfer. That in
the minds of the Board and of my employer, Metro, is the be all and end
all. Well, again, not everyone can afford to get a Smartrip card.
Smartrip cards can and will get lost. Trying to load money on a Smartrip
card on the bus, where there is only one fare box while ten people are
in line behind you is not the same as multiple machines at U Street-Cardozo
Station.
When Virginia needs special fares and rules for Virginia’s riders,
the Virginia delegation to the Metro Board figures it out and crafts
policies for them. Same for Maryland. Graham and new appointee Neil
Albert should do the same as regards the transfer policy in DC before
January or there will be some angry riders in the city, when they learn
they will have to pay $2.60 for the one-way ride that currently costs
$1.30
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This is to advise that the November 2008 online edition has been
uploaded and may be accessed at http://www.intowner.com. Included are
the lead stories, community news items and crime reports, editorials
(including prior months’ archived), restaurant reviews (prior months’
also archived), and the text from the ever-popular “Scenes from the
Past” feature (the accompanying images can be seen in the archived PDF
version). The complete issue (along with prior issues back to January
2002) also is available in PDF file format directly from our home page
at no charge simply by clicking the link in the Current and Back Issues
Archive. Here you will be able to view the entire issue as it appears in
print, including all photos and advertisements.
The next issue will publish on November 12 (the second Friday of the
month, as always). The complete PDF version will be posted by the
preceding night or early that Friday morning at the latest, following
which the text of the lead stories, community news, and selected
features will be uploaded shortly thereafter.
To read this month’s lead stories, simply click the link on the
home page to the following headlines: 1) “Important Projects in the
Heart of Shaw Will Enhance 7th Street Architecturally While Also Serving
the Community’s Needs”; 2) “Plan for Lanier Heights Historic
District Met With Heavy Opposition, Complaints;” 3) “Blagden Alley
and Naylor Court to be Featured on Logan Circle House Tour.” We also
call attention to a new online feature linked from our home page by
clicking the button labeled “Special Online Content.” It is here
that we will from time-to-time post articles or other matter of interest
too lengthy for inclusion in the print edition. To inaugurate this
feature we have posted an article by a longtime iron work expert who
specializes in restoring historic staircases, titled “When Does My
Cast Iron Staircase Need Attention? Always!”
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CLASSIFIEDS — EVENTS
Where’s the Money, November 18
Anne Renshaw, milrddc@aol.com
The Federation of Citizens Associations probes DC’s vanishing
resources, budget cuts, and other austerity plans affecting residents’
quality of life. It will hold a forum on the District government’s
response to the global economic downturn, the mayor’s $131 million
budget reduction plan and the city council’s proposed $50 million
reserve fund on Tuesday, November 18, 6:45 p.m., at the Charles Sumner
School, 120l Seventeenth Street, NW (at M Street).
Guest speaker Dr. Robert D. Ebel, DC’s Deputy Chief Financial
Officer for Revenue Analysis and Chief Economist, will address community
leaders and discuss their questions regarding recently publicized budget
reductions (which have an impact, in part, on DC’s neediest
populations) against agency overspending, theft of city revenues, and
escalating fees for (and reductions in) city services.
Dr. Ebel, a longtime District resident and former ANC Commissioner
(Logan Circle/Shaw), chaired the District of Columbia Tax Revision
Commission (1997-98). He previously served as Senior Fellow at the Urban
Institute/Brookings Institution Tax Policy Center and Lead Economist for
the World Bank. Dr. Ebel, who holds a Ph.D. in Economics from Purdue
University, is also a distinguished newspaper columnist and prolific
author. For further information, contact Anne Mohnkern Renshaw,
363-6880.
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Department of Parks and Recreation Events,
November 18, 20-21
John Stokes, john.astokes@dc.gov
Tuesday, November 18, 6:30 p.m.-8:30 p.m., Kenilworth-Parkside
Recreation Center, 4300 Anacostia Avenue, NE. Potluck and Poetry. In
conjunction with the Eastland Gardens Civic Association Kenilworth
Recreation will host an evening of food and poetry. Poets from around
the city will come and present spoken word. For more information call,
Janice Wright at 727-2485.
Thursday, November 20, 6:00 p.m.-8:00 p.m., Brentwood Recreation
Center, 2311 14th Street, NE. Thanksgiving dinner, ages 5-12. The
community will have a chance to eat a warm delicious meal to celebrate
the Thanksgiving holiday. For more information call Lorenzo Carter, site
manager at 576-6595.
Thursday, November 20, 6:00 p.m.-9:00 p.m., Benning Stoddert
Recreation Center, 100 Stoddert Place, NE. Giving Thanks Thanksgiving
Dinner, all ages. The community of Benning Stoddert will come together
to give thanks in a Pre-Thanksgiving Celebration. Participants will
enjoy lots of food and fun. For more information, call Sharon Marshall
at 698-1873.
Thursday, November 20, 5:30 p.m.-7:00 p.m., Congress Heights
Recreation Center, 100 Randle Place, SE. “Let’s Give Thanks,” ages
6-12. Children and staff will enjoy an evening of games, creative arts,
and music while reciting specially prepared presentations for their
families and community. Light refreshments will be served. For more
information, call Tara Bell at 645-3981.
Thursday, November 20, 11:30 a.m.-2:00 p.m., King Greenleaf
Recreation Center, 201 N Street, SE. Thanksgiving luncheon. Sassy
seniors will participate in a Thanksgiving luncheon, dinner setting.
They will enjoy the sounds of light music. For more information, call
Henry Moton, site manager, 645-4550.
Friday, November 21, Rosedale Recreation Center, 17th and Gales
Streets, NE, 6:00-8:00 p.m. Thanksgiving dinner, all ages. Dinner will
be prepared and served for the community and those interested in
attending the holiday festivities. For more information, call Brian
Williams 724-5405.
Friday, November 21, 6:00 p.m.-8:00 p.m., North Michigan Park
Recreation Center, 1333 Emerson Street, NE. Teen Supreme Thanksgiving
Dinner. ages 12-19. Teens will engage in a fun-filled fellowship, as
well as participate in several low impact activities. For more
information, call Joseph Clark, site manager at 541-3531.
Friday, November 21, 5:00 p.m.-7:00 p.m. Turkey Thicket Community
Center, 1100 Michigan Avenue, NE. Community Thanksgiving Pot Luck
Dinner, all ages. The Turkey Thicket Community is invited to come out
and celebrate the Thanksgiving Holiday season. Members of the community
are encouraged to bring a dish. For more information, call Mark
Williams, Ward 5 manager, at 576-9238.
Friday, November 21, 6:00 p.m.-8:00 p.m., Fort Stevens Recreation
Center, 1327 Van Buren Street, NW. Thanksgiving Potluck Dinner, ages 6
and up. The young ladies of “Young Ladies on the Rise” and the teens
in the Supreme Teens club will host our annual Thanksgiving dinner and
canned food drive. For more information, call Nicole Carroll at
541-3754.
Friday, November 21, 6:30 p.m.-8:30 p.m., Benning Park Recreation
Center, 53rd and Fitch Streets, SE. Thanksgiving feast, all ages.
Showing unity in our community coming together as one. The staff and
community of Benning Park will come together to enjoy a Pre-Thanksgiving
Day Feast. For more information, call Woody Ward at 645-3957.
Friday, November 21, 5:00 p.m.-8:00 p.m., Langdon Park Recreation
Center, 2901 20th Street, NE. Thanksgiving Family Skate Party, all ages.
Come out and enjoy a fun-filled evening with your family as we skate the
night away. For more information, call T-Jai Farmer, site manager at
576-6595.
Friday, November 21, 6:00 p.m.-8:00 p.m., Watkins Recreation Center,
420 12th Street, SE. Thanksgiving Dinner, all ages. Watkins staff will
be feeding the youth and their parents dinner. For more information,
call Brian Cobbs, site manager, 727-4468.
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Committee of 100 Annual Membership Meeting,
November 19
M. Berman, mberman@his.com
The Committee of 100 will hold its annual membership meeting on
Wednesday, November 19, 12:00-2:00 p.m., at the Charles Sumner School.
The Sumner School is located at the corner of 17th and M Streets, NW. It
is accessible via the red line Farragut North stop. Metered street
parking and hourly garage parking also available. Public entrance on
17th Street.
Our guest speaker will be Ed Lazere, Executive Director, DC Fiscal
Policy Institute. Discussion will include Mr. Lazere’s views on the
implications of the current economic crisis for DC, including DCFPI’s
updated revenue and deficit projections in 2009/10 for DC; the five-year
forecast for new business and residential growth and development in DC
in light of the recession/depression; implications for the widening gap
between rich and poor and recommended measures to help low income
residents through the tough times ahead; guiding principles for how DC
should address its own revenue shortfall and expenditures; specific
actions and legislation that the mayor and council need to take to
ensure sound financial oversight and management; recommended changes
needed in the federal payment to the city and requests the mayor and
council should make to the new administration; and any “silver lining”
opportunities (reform of outmoded habits and policies) that could occur
during this period.
In addition, the membership will be electing officers and trustees
and subcommittee chairs will be making annual reports. Please RSVP to mkaymurphy@gmail.com
regarding you attendance for lunch — $15/person payable by check,
cash, or MC/VISA.
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Historical Society of Washington, DC, November
22
Ed Bruske, euclidarms@yahoo.com
Saturday, November 22, 10 a.m. -11:30 a.m. Urban Gardening Series.
Historical Society of Washington, DC, 801 K Street, NW, at Mt. Vernon
Square. Free admission. Can Compost Save Planet Earth? Don’t blow
those leaves out to the curb! Turn them into compost! Recycling food
scraps and other organic matter has become symbolic of the modern green
movement as one thing we can do to nourish the planet. For centuries,
gardeners have known the many benefits compost brings to the soil:
increased fertility, better drainage and water retention, a buffer for
pH. Now we are learning that an ample supply of organic matter is
critical to support soil microbes, so important for plant health.
City dwellers generate huge amounts of organic scraps, but turning
them into compost — rather than sending them to the landfill —
presents special challenges. Not everyone has a back yard with room for
a big compost heap. Still, there’s more than one way to get those
carrot peels, apple cores, and grass clippings back into the soil where
they belong. Ed Bruske, Master Gardener and president of DC Urban
Gardeners, shows how composting works and demonstrates a variety of
strategies for composting in an urban setting. He’ll explain different
types of tumblers, why pests and odors needn’t be a problem, and how
even apartment dwellers can start composting with their own colony of
worms. Ed Bruske frequently writes about composting on his blog, The
Slow Cook (http://www.theslowcook.com).
This presentation is given in collaboration with DC Urban Gardeners. RSVP@historydc.org
or 383-1828.
Saturday, November 22, 1-4 p.m. Historical Society of Washington, DC,
801 K Street, NW, at Mt. Vernon Square. Free admission. Learn Decorative
Papercutting. As the winter holidays begin, bring the whole family to
learn papercutting — the art of cutting paper designs. Paper cutting
is an ancient form of folk art and has been practiced for almost
eighteen hundred years by millions of men, women, and children
throughout the world. The art has evolved uniquely all over the world to
adapt to different cultural styles. In almost every country, silhouettes
were cut. Before photography, the only way to have a picture for
posterity was to have a painting or drawing, both relatively expensive.
A shadow, traced on paper hung on a wall, and then cut out, was much
less expensive. Itinerant cutters went from place to place, often making
pictures of whole families. Papercutting came to the American colonies
first, when middle Europeans, mostly Germans, fleeing religious
persecution, came to Pennsylvania in the late seventeenth century. In
the spirit of the holidays, master papercutter, Anne Leslie will show
you how to make your own paper cutting design to share with your friends
and family. RSVP@historydc.org
or 383-1828.
Saturday, November 22, 1-4 p.m. Historical Society of Washington, DC,
801 K Street. NW, at Mt. Vernon Square. Free admission. Make a Porcelain
Holiday Ornament. Make your own personalized holiday ornament with
visual artist, Pat Swinsky. She will show you and your family how to
design and decorate a embossed porcelain ornament. Using special tools
each participant will create a raised design, made with acrylic paint,
on a polished porcelain ornament. Five different shaped ornaments and
many different colors of porcelain will be available for you to choose
from. You have a choice of three different designs: a poinsettia, holly,
or lace design. Each design can be done in many different variations.
Finished samples will be available so you can see what the design will
look like. You will work with a manually operated ‘lathe’ to hold
your ornament while you create the design work with a tool that looks
like a syringe. This hand-on-activity is geared more to teens and
adults. RSVP@historydc.org or
202-383-1828
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School Budget Proposal Hearing, November 20
Jennifer Calloway, jennifer.calloway@dc.gov
The District of Columbia Public Schools (DCPS) fiscal year 2010
proposal for school funding is now available online. The proposed
formula for how DCPS would structure school budgets is being released in
an effort to solicit comments and provide the community with an
opportunity to review the model prior to the Chancellor’s public
budget hearing on November 20. Please visit http://www.k12.dc.us/about/DCPS%20Budget.htm
for more information and to download the proposal and ancillary data
from FY 2009.
The November 20 hearing will be at DCPS headquarters at 825 North
Capitol Street in the fifth floor boardroom from 6:00-8:00 p.m. Members
of the public who would like to submit testimony should contact Jennifer
Nguyen at jennifer.nguyen@dc.gov.
“This year we set out to create a more transparent and engaging
budget process, we hope that all the school communities will examine the
proposal and attend the public hearing to offer their input,” said
Chancellor Michelle Rhee. “We look forward to starting this process
early and working together to create a final budget that supports
student achievement.”
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CLASSIFIEDS — INAUGURAL HOUSING
Colleague Seeks Inauguration Housing
Joan Eisenstodt, jeisen@aol.com
A colleague is seeking inauguration housing for some of her clients.
Outside DC is OK also; some groups might come with their nannies.
I know everyone wants it, but it can’t hurt to ask, and it sounds
like they may pay well given the particulars. This particular couple is
an actress and her significant other is a baseball player; four children
and a nanny. Four bedrooms and two to three baths wanted. Please reply
to Jackie Chutter, jackie@vaescape.com
or 757-229-1161.
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House with three bedrooms and a basement apartment in Palisades. Bus
route D-6 is one block away; twenty to thirty minutes from downtown.
Call 301-493-6985 or write williamhaskett@hotmail.com.
Otherwise call me at 301-493-6985.
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