Fitting Your Needs
Dear Fitters:
Below, T. Lassoc questions Dorothy’s assertion in the last issue of
themail that Omar Nour’s record of having voted only once disqualifies
him from serving as a member of the Board of Elections and Ethics.
Lassoc says there can be a lot of good reasons not to vote, and that
voting isn’t mandatory. That’s why Dorothy wrote that Nour’s poor
voting record wouldn’t preclude him from serving on a board that, say,
licensed podiatrists or beauticians or, more suitably, that regulated
triathlete competitions. But if voting is too much of a bother for Nour,
if it is too inconvenient for him, then he should serve on one of those
boards, rather than on the board that runs and regulates DC’s
elections. You wouldn’t want elections to be managed by a nonvoter
anymore than you’d want our subway and bus system managed by someone
who never rides on public transit. Oh, wait. . . . (Lena H. Sun, “Metro
Use a Rarity for Half of Board,” http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/02/21/AR2009022101667.html)
Actually, most readers drew a different conclusion from Sun’s
article than I did. I don’t think the most important point is that at
least half of Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority Board
members don’t use the system themselves, and that only one rides the
system daily; I think the major point is the reason they give for not
using it: “Taking Metro is not convenient for their jobs, they said.”
“[Councilmember Jim] Graham said frequent night meetings make mass
transit inconvenient.” These reasons show that WMATA Board members
understand the system they run very well; they don’t use it because
they understand it doesn’t fit their needs. For a small portion of
residents of the Metropolitan area, who live and work near Metro
stations and convenient bus lines, who don’t venture out much at
night, and who do all of their shopping in their immediate
neighborhoods, Metro is a complete transportation solution, but for most
people in the metropolitan area, even driving in rush hour traffic is
preferable to taking the train and bus. The task that faces Metro Board
members is to lure riders, not to force them out of their cars. Metro
has to build and maintain a system that will be so convenient that
people will use it by choice, even if they are as busy and
self-important as Metro Board members. Simply trying to force people
onto Metro by making driving more expensive and harder won’t work, if
the system itself doesn’t fit their needs.
Peter Tucker, below, opposes the use of Gardasil, a vaccine against
cervical cancer that he believes is dangerous, experimental, and
untested for use in young girls. Councilmember David Catania is a
champion of Gardasil, and sponsored legislation that requires sixth
grade girls to be vaccinated with it. Tucker wants to testify about
Gardasil at an oversight hearing for the Department of Health that
Catania will hold this Friday. Tucker signed up as a witness at Catania’s
hearing and was placed on the witness list. He was then told that he
would not be allowed to testify under any circumstances, and that he
would not be given any reason for being barred. Here is the relevant
rule of the city council, Rule No. 504(b): “If a committee, in the
publication of notice of a public hearing, sets a deadline before which
a member of the public must contact the committee to be permitted to be
a witness at the public hearing, then at the time that the public
hearing is held, each member of the public who complied with the
committee’s requirements shall be given an opportunity to testify.”
Catania is not just insulting Tucker, and by extension all citizens, by
commanding that someone who disagrees with his policy preferences not be
allowed to testify before his committee; he is also flouting a rule of
the city council. If Catania stands by his position, will he be
disciplined by the city council? If he is not disciplined, can citizens
rely on any guarantee by the council that they will be treated fairly by
it?
The Washingtonian publishes good lifestyle articles, but it
rarely does important investigative news, so John Pekkanen’s article
on the Fire Department and Emergency Medical Services in the February
issue (http://www.washingtonian.com/articles/people/11153.html)
is notable. Combining the Fire Department and emergency ambulances
services into one joint agency has been a failure. The two functions and
the two work forces don’t fit together. It may have been worth trying
as an experiment, but that experiment was proven to be a failure years
ago. As Pekkanen notes, Fenty knows the joint agency doesn’t work, and
promised during his campaign to separate ambulance service and fire
fighting into two departments, but reneged on his campaign promise after
he was elected. Politics is to blame: the fire department wants the
budget of Emergency Medical Services, and won’t give up the money
without a fight. For the sake of our health and safety, it’s a battle
worth fighting. Read the whole article, and consider testifying at the
March 4 oversight hearing of Councilmember Mendelson’s Public Safety
and Judiciary Committee or E-mailing the councilmember with your
comments.
Gary Imhoff
themail@dcwatch.com
###############
BOEE Crippled Further
Dorothy Brizill, dorothy@dcwatch.com
There have been times in the District of Columbia when things have
seemed bad, really bad. Over the years, I have learned to be calm, to
wait and hold my breath, because things would usually get worse. In the
case of the District’s Board of Elections and Ethics, the term of Dr.
Lenora Cole expired in July of last year. District law states that Dr.
Cole would continue to serve on the Board until her replacement was
confirmed by the council and sworn in by the mayor. On February 5, Mayor
Fenty nominated his jogging pal, Omar Nour, to replace Cole. To date,
Councilmember Mary Cheh, whose Government Operations Committee oversees
BOEE, has not yet scheduled a confirmation hearing for Nour or publicly
asked the mayor to withdraw his nomination. Against this backdrop, Dr.
Cole today submitted her letter of resignation, effectively immediately.
(Cole was personally irritate by all the criticism of BOEE last year
from citizens, the council, and the media. In recent weeks, she was also
angry about Nour’s appointment and upset that she had not been
consulted about who should replace her on the board.)
As a result of Dr. Cole’s resignation, the BOEE is now down to two
members. Should the mayor decide to dig in his heels in support of his
unqualified nominee, council consideration of Nour could be long and
protracted.
###############
This Friday, Councilmember David Catania is chairing the Department
of Health oversight hearing. While I was a confirmed witness for this
hearing as of last week, on Monday I received a call from Jen Barry of
Mr. Catania’s office informing me that my name had been removed from
the witness list and I would not be allowed to testify, but I was free
to submit written testimony. Ms. Barry offered no reason for my name’s
removal, and referred me to the Office of the Secretary for any follow
up questions. A quick call to the Office of the Secretary revealed that
it has no role in determining who is allowed testify, which is the
decision of the chair of the relevant committee, in this case Mr.
Catania. Numerous E-mails to Mr. Catania asking for a justification for
my removal from the witness list have been met with no response.
My exclusion is the result of the work I’ve been doing for the past
two years raising questions about the experimental and dangerous HPV
vaccine known as Gardasil. As a result of Mr. Catania’s efforts,
Gardasil is now required for sixth grade girls for this upcoming school
year, despite its having been associated with thousands of illnesses and
dozens of deaths (http://www.judicialwatch.org/gardasil).
Dr. Diane Harper, a professor at Dartmouth medical school, and a leading
researcher of Gardasil, has called its use in girls under the age of 18
“a great big public health experiment.” Additional concerns of Dr.
Harper and other medical professionals can be found in this front page New
York Times article, http://www.nytimes.com/2008/08/20/health/policy/20vaccine.html.
Mr. Catania is attempting to avoid having to publicly discuss these
issues on Friday. But if we are to have proper oversight for the
Department of Health, it requires that Mr. Catania not pick and choose
who is allowed to testify.
###############
Good neighbors look out for each other and often help in ways that
make neighborhoods safer and more enjoyable. A good neighbor will be
among the first to tell you about someone hanging around your home, or
that your porch light does not come on at dusk as you expected. Good
neighbors help each other pick up trash, share plant cuttings, flowering
bulbs, and sometimes trees, a soda, and a slice of pie. Good neighbors
will collect your mail and watch your home when you are away and even
take care of your beloved pet for free. Good neighbors manifest
themselves in ways that let you know you are welcome in your community
and an integral part of something special.
I am fortunate to live in a community where the majority of people
are indeed good neighbors and have embraced me during the worst of
times, including when drug dealers set my car on fire because I
advocated for a safe, clean, and orderly community. Yes, we have traded
plant cuttings, recipes, and collected each other’s mail during trips
out of town. We stood together to denounce violence when others were
dumping dead bodies in our alleys and shooting in broad daylight in our
midst. We stood together during the horrific times and invited others to
stand with us. Good neighbors from every ward in this city, including
the valiant Guardian Angels, locked arms with us, strengthening our
neighborly ties. Of course, we count our police officers among our good
neighbors.
Our community is stronger and safer now and we enjoy the active
presence of even more good neighbors. We embraced our neighbors in
Langston Terrace, Carver Terrace, and now Trinidad because we understand
we are safer when our immediate neighbors are safer. We are indeed good
neighbors and we challenge others to be as good as or better than we
are. I guess I am issuing a good neighbor challenge. Are you up to the
task?
###############
It’s Time to Ban Ski Mask Sales in the DC
Area
Phil Shapiro, pshapiro@his.com
With the level of armed robberies continuing to rise in the DC area,
it’s time to ban the sale of ski masks in DC area stores. Doing so
would not prevent hardened criminals from acquiring ski masks, but it
would make it more inconvenient to do so. We need that inconvenience.
Naturally, any employer would still be able to purchase ski masks for
their workers who need to be out in the cold. It’s the casual sale of
ski masks that should be prohibited. Sure it’s a small step against
crime — a small step that should have happened thirty years ago.
###############
A Tiny Group Commits Most Violent Crimes
Aeolian Jackson, ajack10970@aol.com
As described in the Philadelphia Inquirer on Sunday, that city
is addressing the problem of violent crime without stigmatizing its
majority of conforming young men and locking down whole communities. [“Head
Strong: A Tiny Group of City Residents Commits Most of Violent Crime,”
http://tinyurl.com/c7p2sz] Their
logical and economical approach of targeting the few who create chaos
for the many is sound. However, I do understand that, in Washington,
destabilized communities provide otherwise unavailable career
trajectories/political opportunities for failed administrators and
layered employment for Ward 9 folk.
###############
Maybe Waterboarding Will Help
Philip Fornaci, DC Prisoners’ Legal Services, pfornaci@yahoo.com
Gary Imhoff [themail, February 22] accuses DC councilmembers of an
“ideologically driven refusal to provide adequate supervision of the
violent and vicious criminals who pose a threat to the public.” These
reactionary characterizations of the DC council and of DC youth add
nothing to the debate or to solving the problems. Mr. Imhoff and Colbert
King seem to hallucinate halcyon days at Oak Hill and DYRS that never
existed. Drug use at Oak Hill? Escapes from halfway houses? Shocking,
just shocking, and surely unheard of ten years ago, right? Can we also
blame Mr. Schiraldi for teen pregnancies? Hell, if the District just
locked up more juveniles for more time then we surely would have fewer
pregnant girls. Neither Mr. Imhoff nor Mr. King can articulate what they
want DYRS to do to prevent criminal activity by juveniles except the
simplistic and illegal approach of locking them up before they commit a
crime. We’re all lucky that this “ideologically driven” pair are
not in positions of power, and instead are limited to venting their
authoritarian tirades on a steadily shrinking readership.
[I never wrote a word about waterboarding, halcyon days at Oak Hill,
teen pregnancies, or pretrial detentions, and it’s Mr. Fornaci, not
me, who reads the words “violent and vicious criminals” and thinks
of DC youths in general. But the most puzzling sentence is, “Neither
Mr. Imhoff nor Mr. King can articulate what they want DYRS to do to
prevent criminal activity by juveniles. . . .” I don’t speak for Mr.
King, but I think we’ve both said repeatedly that criminal juveniles
should actually serve the sentences that courts give them for their
crimes, instead of being released on the whim of DYRS and sent back into
their neighborhoods without any supervision. It’s that radical
suggestion that drives both Mr. Fornaci and Mr. Schiraldi mad. — Gary
Imhoff]
###############
ANCs and the “Solution” for Ineffective
Democracy
Richard Layman, rlaymandc@yahoo.com
Training. A support infrastructure to assist the members of Advisory
Neighborhood Commissions and their committees in developing the skills
and competencies and acquiring the information they need to carry out
their duties and interests. And standard procedures designed to be open,
transparent, and fair. My joke about ANCs is that you can have 279
tyrants (although I usually mention a specific past mayor as the
example), or 279 engaged citizens contributing to better neighborhoods
and a better city.
I am most familiar with the ANCs in Wards 5 and 6, and ANC6A is the
exception that proves my point about the need for a support
infrastructure. Most ANC bylaws do not allow for non-elected citizens to
serve on committees. ANC6A does so, and then can acquire additional
committed citizens and expertise to carry out the responsibilities and
work of the committees. ANC6A takes this one step further, and allows
non-electeds to serve as chairs of committees, which multiplies the
number of people working diligently on the matters before the
Commission, and increases the likelihood that people with expertise
serve in key positions. ANC6A has an extensive web site
(http://www.anc6a.org) replete with agenda, minutes, filings, reports,
and other documents. The chairs of ANC6A committees, such as Economic
Development and Zoning, Alcoholic Beverage Licensing, and Public Space
and Transportation, seek out additional technical expertise as a matter
of course, and at the same time have developed a robust knowledge base
that makes their involvement in each successive matter more effective
and directed.
When matters warrant, ANC6A also reaches out to work with the ANCs
that it borders, although this tends to happen more with ANC6C (the two
ANCs share jurisdiction over H Street NE) and ANC6B, and less with
ANC5B, which borders ANC6A and 6C along Florida Avenue. For example,
ANC6A led the effort of ANCs in Wards 5, 6, and 7 to advocate for the
installation of streetcar tracks on H Street as part of the streetscape
improvement program, to “hurry along” the coming of streetcars to H
Street and Benning Road. From 2003-2005, I served on the ANC6C Planning
and Zoning Committee, which was at times problematic because there wasn’t
the necessary commitment to quality, to urban design principles, and to
openness, transparency, and fairness. (Since then I would argue that the
committee and ANC6C as a whole continue have continued to improve.) One
of my colleagues on the committee had a great quote: “These guys don’t
understand procedure. For them, everything is personal. They don’t get
it that the process is designed to be fair.”
That is the problem with many ANCs generally, and with ANC
commissioners specifically. The great weight provision applies to the
ANC as a whole, not to individual commissioners, and not to individual
single member districts. Many ANCs fail to set up adequate procedures to
guarantee that matters are addressed by the ANC via a fair, open, and
transparent process, and in a manner that limits the ability of
individual commissioners to become tyrants, especially because most ANC
commissioners defer to the commissioner of a particular SMD with regard
to matters within particular geographies.
###############
Ad Hominem
Attacks
on ANC Commissioners
Anne C. Sullivan, acsullivan@starpower.net
As a former, two-term, ANC commissioner, I have to object to the
recent generalized criticisms of ANC commissioners. I know I am rising
to the bait and should probably just let people rant if they so desire,
but I do have a comment and a suggestion. There are many, many
well-intentioned citizens who voluntarily devote much of their time and
energy to serving their neighborhoods as advisors to the government on
issues that are important to their communities. They do this out of a
sense of civic responsibility. I suggest that those who complain about
the “bullies” and “wannabes” who are ANC commissioners try
running for their local ANC position in the next election so that they
can have a turn serving their communities.
###############
Before we abolish or dismantle the system of ANCs, it might be useful
to consider their original purpose, which was simply to form a line of
communication from neighborhoods to the central government, regardless
of who was going to be chosen as its members. They may all, for anything
that I know to the contrary, be harboring tales of their own glory, but
their original purpose was to provide neighborhood advice on questions
that related in particular to that neighborhood, and which might
otherwise never reach those higher levels through other channels.
I was part of the group that made these suggestions in the late 1960s
(from the then-Washington Center for Metropolitan Studies), when what
used to be called “citizen participation” was a promising solution
to the problems of keeping central and higher levels of government aware
that there were other concerned groups and individuals who might have
something to say. It was hoped at the time that those higher levels
might actually contribute funds and staffing in some central office
which would ensure that what was thought or said below would reach those
higher levels, and not get lost in the noise that surrounds them.
This original purpose still exists and still serves a useful function
that we (of all people) should not ignore.
###############
Nour’s Voting Record
T. Lassoc, Cei76@aol.com
[Reply to Dorothy Brizill, “Nour’s Voting Record: Another
Disqualification,” themail, February 22] Voting rights and the right
to vote both encompass the right not to vote. Voting in this country is
not mandatory, albeit a precious privilege and right of citizenship, and
for many achieved by the shedding of blood. One is most presumptuous to
attribute to “a casual attitude” the reason that a person registered
to vote on a certain date (rather than at an earlier date) or that a
person did not vote in any particular election or as frequently as one
thinks the person should have voted. Your usual modus operandi is to
research all the facts first. What happened? Or do you have some inside
information not disclosed in your article? Your conclusion about Nour
seems very subjective, more of a value judgment and full of emotion,
rather than an objective evaluation based on a person’s actual ability
to serve on the Board of Election and Ethics. In fact, we should be just
as concerned if any member of the Board believes that voting is, in
fact, mandatory in every election. There are a myriad of reasons that
people don’t vote including but not limited to personal convictions
regarding candidates and/or issues presented, belief that there are no
real “choices” (depending on who or what may be on the ballot),
transportation, illness, absence from the jurisdiction (absentee ballots
and early voting notwithstanding), registered (and voting) in another
jurisdiction, emergencies, laziness, procrastination, belief that voting
doesn’t make a difference, and perhaps even a “casual attitude” as
you conclude here. The point is, do you really know the actual reason of
which you write?
###############
In the February 23 edition of themail there were two posts regarding
the possibility that “The Generations Network, which owns and
operates, among other sites, Ancestry.com,” might acquire ownership of
the materials housed at the DC Archives. Denise Wiktor worried that “District
residents would be paying a Utah company for a copy of the census
records with their ancestors or who lived in their house, etc.”
There has also been a good deal of discussion on this topic on the
Historic Washington listserv. Some people were upset over this
possibility until we were reassured by the following message from one of
our list members: “Ancestry and other companies have digitized a great
deal of information from public archives, including the National
Archives. One does need to pay to access the records on line, but the
originals remain at (or return to) their original repositories and can
be accessed there in the traditional manner, and used and cited as
previously. Such companies do not retain the possession or rights to the
documents themselves.”
Let me add that, as far as I know, the DC Archives doesn’t have
census records. These are at the National Archives. The originals are
not available to the public, and in fact might have been destroyed after
they were microfilmed — an unfortunate practice that was done by many
archives in order to save space. Census records, ships passenger lists,
and all sorts of materials are available on microfilm at the National
Archives and at other libraries. They are also available online from
your home computer through Ancestry.com, and many public libraries also
have access to Ancestry.com. I have been a subscriber to Ancestry.com
for years. I use it constantly for my work as an independent historian
and for my own family genealogy. The yearly fee is well worth it. If
documents from the DC Archives were made available through Ancestry.com,
it would be so much easier than having to go first to the Recorder of
Deeds, get the citation, fill out a request form, and then go several
days later to the DC Archives to view the document.
###############
CLASSIFIEDS — EVENTS
Department of Parks and Recreation Events,
February 27-28
John Stokes, john.astokes@dc.gov
February 27, 11:00 a.m.-12:30 a.m., King Greenleaf Recreation Center,
201 N Street, SW. DC Department of Parks and Recreation (DPR) and the
Junior Monumental Milers Program (JuMMP) will host the “2009 JuMMP
Rally Finale” event. Now in its second year, the JuMMP program is
sponsored by the Greater Washington Sports Alliance and the SunTrust
National Marathon. In 2009, The SunTrust National Marathon and Half
Marathon celebrated its fourth year and anticipates over eight thousand
runners to hit the streets of the District of Columbia on March 21.
JuMMP is a twenty-three-week long fitness challenge that engages
students in grades 2-8, to run or walk 26.2 miles by the end of the
program. The program kicked off its second year on October 3, 2008, with
over 336 youth participants who were excited to hit the ground running
and start tracking their miles. The young runners track their miles on a
special JuMMP Runner’s Log and bring their finished Runner’s Log to
the SunTrust National Marathon’s JuMMP Finish Line Festival where they
receive a runner’s bib and complete a victory lap. On race day, JuMMP
participants also receive a Finisher’s Medal, tee-shirt and goody bag
as well as admittance to the JuMMP Zone Festival area at RFK Stadium.
The 2009 JuMMP Rally Finale event, sponsored by Reebok and Enterprise
Car Rental will recognize the DPR JuMMP Youth and DCPS Physical
Education JuMMP Youth that participated in the program. This year’s
event also includes five unique “Motion Stations” where youth can
participate in a variety of activities such as Tug-o-War and Jump Rope
Relays. After completing all five Motion Station activities, the youth
will receive a special prize. Confirmed speakers for the day include
Mayor Adrian M. Fenty; Councilmember Harry Thomas, Jr., Chairman,
Committee on Libraries, Parks and Recreation; Clark E. Ray, DPR
Director; Bob Sweeney, president, Greater Washington Sports Alliance (GWSA);
and US Olympic Gold Medalist and 2009 JuMMP Chair, Dominique Dawes.
Friday, February 27, 6:00 p.m.-10:00 p.m., Magic Johnson Capital
Center Blvd., 800 Shoppers Way, Largo, MD. The kids and teens of Joe
Cole Recreation Center will participate in a movie night out. For more
information, contact Kyanna Blackwell, 724-4876
Friday, February 27, 5:00 p.m.-9:00 p.m., Arboretum Recreation
Center, 2412 Rand Place, NE, Black history play for all ages; a play
that will bring back to life the true meaning of black history. For more
information, contact Donald Perritt, Site Manager, 727-5547
Friday, February 27, 7:00 a.m.-7:00 p.m., Massanutten Station, 1822
Resort Drive, McGahaysville, VA. Supreme teen snow tubing. Teens will
enjoy snow tubing and skiing, followed by an evening dinner. For more
information, contact Tameka Borges, Recreation Specialist, 576-5642.
Saturday, February 28, 3:00 p.m.-6:00 p.m., Sherwood Recreation
Center, 640 10th Street, SE. Old school days; all ages. Fashion, fine
arts, visual and performing arts showcase reminiscent of the music,
sights, and sound of yesteryear. For more information, contact Karena
Houser-Hall, 698-3075.
###############
DCSBOE Public Hearing on Residency
Verification Process, March 4
Beverley Wheeler, beverley.wheeler@dc.gov
The Office of the State Superintendent of Education (OSSE) has
proposed changes to the current Residency Verification regulations for
students. The DC State Board of Education (DCSBOE) will hold a public
hearing on the proposed Residency Verification regulations. The most
notable proposed change is to the date at which LEAs can begin their
residency verification process. The DCSBOE invites members of the public
to provide input on the proposed regulations; all ideas and suggestions
are welcomed.
The public meeting will begin at 6:00 p.m. on March 4 at 441 4th
Street, NW, in the District of Columbia State Board of Education
Chambers, located on the lobby level of the building.
Constituents who wish to comment at the meeting are required to
notify the State Board of Education in advance by contacting the
Executive Director, Beverley Wheeler, by phone at 741-0884 or by E-mail
at Beverley.Wheeler@dc.gov
before the close of business Monday, March 2, 2009. Please provide one
electronic copy and bring fifteen copies to the hearing for the State
Board Members to view. The meeting will air live on DSTV Comcast Channel
99 and RCN Channel 18.
###############
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