Unfairness
Dear Fair Citizens:
Harry Jaffe honestly admits, “I am totally in the tank for DC
Schools Chancellor Michelle Rhee,” http://tinyurl.com/dg3854,
and there is no doubt that he is. Yet he writes that, “I feel
compelled to reexamine the case of Art Siebens and his removal from
Wilson High. The transfer of Siebens, perhaps the best biology teacher
in the city, has troubling elements of selective enforcement of rules
and a scent of reverse racism.” Jaffe summarizes the Siebens case: “Last
summer Rhee lured Pete Cahall from Montgomery County to be Wilson’s
new principal. He vowed to bring order to Wilson’s chaos. He fired Art
Siebens. Neither the school nor Rhee have given a solid reason, beyond
the undocumented charge that Siebens discouraged minority kids from
taking his AP class. Wilson students protested. They wrote letters to
Rhee. They testified before the city council. They tried to meet with
Rhee. Siebens’ former students started a movement to bring him back.
Rhee was unmoved. The biology program at Wilson collapsed.”
The Siebens case was discussed in themail eight times between July
and October last year. (Use the search box on DCWatch’s home page to
find them all.) Jaffe is belatedly outraged about it, and he is right to
be, but he fails to understand that Siebens’ firing from Wilson is not
an unfortunate mistake by Chancellor Rhee and Principal Cahall. It is
not an anomaly or a unique event. It is the way the system works under a
Chancellor who demands absolute power, and who enforces her power by
keeping teachers afraid of what she is able to do to them, without
answering to anyone. To demonstrate that her power is unchecked, to keep
everyone on edge at all times, Rhee has to act arbitrarily, firing and
moving teachers without explanation and for no good reason. Jaffe’s
article is entitled, “Can Rhee Reform Schools and Be Fair?” Harry
and I may differ on whether Rhee’s purpose is really to reform DCPS or
to dismantle it, but the answer to whether she can be fair and enact her
program, whichever it is, is no. Unfairness isn’t a bug in the
program, Harry, it’s a feature, and it’s intrinsic to it.
Gary Imhoff
themail@dcwatch.com
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DC’s Foreign Aid Program, Part 3
Dorothy Brizill, dorothy@dcwatch.com
On Friday, April 3, Peter Nickles, the District’s Attorney General,
released a memorandum detailing his findings “into the issues
surrounding the provision of a surplus District of Columbia fire truck
and ambulance to the city of Sosua in the Dominican Republic” (http://www.dcwatch.com/govern/fire090403.htm).
Nickles’ “investigative” report, however, is both devoid of
details and full of inaccuracies. Moreover, it is largely a
regurgitation of the story about the disposition that was publicly known
as of Friday. It adds no new information, and it doesn’t answer any of
the several unanswered questions.
Nickles, nevertheless, claims that he “conducted a thorough review”
and that he is “satisfied that the disposition was legal and totally
proper.” In short, Nickles’ memorandum is the usual whitewash of the
Fenty administration that we have, unfortunately, come to expect from
him. However, it is obvious that neither the general public nor the
council is willing to accept the public pronouncements of Peaceoholics
or the Fenty administration on this subject. Councilmembers Cheh and
Mendelson have asked for an independent investigation by the Inspector
General and for information from the Chief Financial Officer about
travel to the Dominican Republic by members of the administration (also
at http://www.dcwatch.com/govern/fire090403.htm),
and Cheh’s Committee on Government Operations and the Environment will
be asking questions of the Office of Contracting and Procurement at
tomorrow’s budget hearing. The longer the administration practices its
usual secrecy in this case, the more it inflates what could have been a
minor scandal into a major one.
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Cowardly Pols Crucify Pilot Program for Kids
Ed T. Barron, edtb1@macdotcom
That’s the headline on the editorial page of the April 13 issue of Forbes
magazine. The article describes the DC school system as “just about
the worst in the country” and the experimental program that provided
vouchers for kids to go to better-performing private or nonpublic
schools. That program, which has been a huge success, will end after the
next school year due to the pressure by the teachers unions on
lawmakers. Obama refused to back an amendment to continue the program.
Just remember, Obama’s kids are in private schools. How hypocritical
can you get?
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A Very Bad Example
Ed T. Barron, edtb1@macdotcom
The Post has set a very bad example today (Sunday, April 5,
Outlook section page 3) with a photo of a cherry blossom tree with a
young boy standing on a tree limb. Climbing those old and fragile
beautiful trees is not only forbidden, it is dangerous to the tree. I
don’t care if the kid falls and breaks his head but I do care about
damaging those wonderful trees. The Post should apologize for
showing that photo and remind everyone not to climb, or in any way cause
damage to those trees.
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CLASSIFIEDS — EVENTS
Council Hearing on Voting Rights Act, April 7
Linda Wharton-Boyd, lwhartonboyd@dccouncil.us
Councilmember Michael A. Brown will hold a public oversight
roundtable on the DC House voting Rights Act of 2009 and the gun
amendment. DC voting rights activists, DC statehood supporters,
constitutional scholars, members of Congress, antigun violence
advocates, representatives of gun dealers and manufacturers, law
enforcement officials, and residents are expected to provide testimony
before the DC Council’s Special Committee on Statehood and
Self-Determination, chaired by Councilmember Michael A. Brown. Tuesday,
April 7, 6:30 p.m., at the John A. Wilson District Building, Room 412,
1350 Pennsylvania Avenue, NW.
In January 2009, the DC House Voting Rights Act (H.R. 157) was
introduced to provide for the treatment of the District of Columbia as a
Congressional district for purposes of representation in the House of
Representatives. The Senate version of the bill, DC House Voting Rights
Act (S.160), was introduced by Senators Joseph Lieberman (I-CT) and
Orrin Hatch (R-UT) and was passed in late February. The Senate bill
included an amendment offered by Senator John Ensign (R-NV) that would
change the current DC gun laws. The gun amendment would also strip the
District council of its power to legislate gun control laws in the
future.
Individuals and representatives of organizations who wish to testify
at the Public Roundtable are asked to telephone Ms. Amy Bellanca,
Legislative Counsel to Councilmember Michael A. Brown, at 724-8105, or
send an E-mail to abellanca@dccouncil.us
and furnish their names, addresses, telephone numbers and organizational
affiliation, if any, by the close of business on Friday, April 3. They
should also bring with them twenty copies of their written testimony or
submit one copy of their written testimony by Monday, April 6. Persons
presenting testimony may be limited to three minutes in order to permit
each witness an opportunity to be heard. Written statements for the
record are encouraged and will be made a part of the official record.
All statements should be submitted to Ms. Cynthia Brock-Smith, Secretary
to the Council, 1350 Pennsylvania Avenue, NW, Suite 5, Washington, DC,
20004, no later than 5:30 p.m. on Tuesday, April 14.
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We are still mad as hell, but we’re getting smarter every day. Come
hear about two big deals this Tuesday, April 7. New developments on the
scene. If you want to know about the background of all this, come to St.
Anthony’s Church, 1029 Monroe Street, NE, at 6:30 p.m. Come at 7:00
p.m. to learn about an exciting way to save Brookland from the hustlers.
Find out how we can get virtually free (low cost loans, paid back only
when you sell the house) money to rejuvenate the gorgeous housing stock
here in Brookland and greater northeast. This is not shuck ’n jive; it
is a real program and it works. Rebuild or rejuvenate your house. Pay
nothing until you sell it! Sound too good to be true? Well, it is true.
I talked to the non profit people in Minnesota who designed this and
they will help us do it. Go to: http://www.nrp.org/R2/AboutNRP/default.html.
Don’t destroy the character of Brookland: Rejuvenate it. This is a CUA/WMATA
killer! For more information, contact Jerome J. Peloquin, jpeloquin@microventuresupport.org,
652.0185.
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Department of Parks and Recreation Events,
April 7-9
John Stokes, john.astokes@dc.gov
Tuesday, April 7, 10:30 a.m.-2:00 p.m., Lamond Recreation Center, 20
Tuckerman Street, NE. Cherry Blossom tour and lunch at Union Station for
ages 55 and up. Seniors will take a tour of the Cherry Blossoms and
enjoy lunch at Union Station. For more information, call Vanecia Davis
at 576-6440.
Wednesday, April 8, 3:30 p.m.-5:00 p.m., Fort Lincoln Recreation
Center, 3100 Ft. Lincoln Drive, NE. Easter egg hunt for all ages. Paper
eggs will be hidden around the recreation center and kids will find the
eggs and get prizes. For more information, call Clifton Chisley at
576-6818.
Thursday, April 9, 1:00 p.m.-3:00 p.m., Rosedale Recreation Center,
1701 Gales Street, NE. Easter egg hunt for ages 6-12. Youth will
participate in decorating for the spring and Easter season. Youth will
also participate in an Easter Egg Hunt. For more information call, Brian
Williams at 724-5405.
Thursday, April 9, 3:30 p.m.-5:30 p.m., Sherwood Recreation Center,
640 10th Street, NE. Young Ladies on the Rise “Marian Anderson Day”
for ages 12 and under. Girl’s Social Club will read and study the life
of this exceptional woman and reenact a historic concert on the grounds
of the Lincoln Memorial in 1939. For more information, call Karena
Houser-Hall, Recreation Specialist, at 698-3075.
Thursday, April 9, 4:30-6:00 p.m., Congress Heights Recreation
Center, Alabama Avenue and Randle Place, SE. Easter egg scavenger hunt
for ages 6-11. This Easter egg scavenger hunt will have participants
working together in different teams to solve riddles that will lead them
to clues for prizes and delicious treats. For more information call,
Tara Bell at 645-3981.
Thursday, April 9, 5:00 p.m., Brentwood Recreation Center, 2311 14th
Street, NE. Easter egg decoration for ages 5-12. Participants will
decorate eggs for our annual Easter egg hunt. For more information,
contact Lorenzo Carter, Site Manager, at 576-6667.
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DC Creates Public Art Program, April 8
Deirdre Ehlen, deirdre.ehlen@dc.gov
DC Creates Public Art Program invites you to a dedication of
sculptures by Omri Amrany of Josh Gibson, Walter Johnson, and Frank
Howard and a suspended installation by Walter Kravitz entitled “The
Ball Game.” Wednesday April 8, at 11:00 a.m. at Nationals Park at
Center Field Plaza, 1500 S. Capitol Street, SE. Enter through the main
entrance at the Center Field Gates at Half Street and N Street, SE.
Closest Metro station, Navy Yard (Green Line). Guest Parking available
in LOT C (entrance on the 1st Street Side). RSVP to Deirdre Ehlen, deirdre.ehlen@dc.gov,
724-5613. For more information about the project please go to http://www.dcarts.dc.gov
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DC Healthy Start, Building Healthy
Communities, April 22
Abby Bonder, abonder@dckids.org
DC Healthy Start, the Department of Health Community Health
Administration Perinatal and Infant Health Bureau (PIHB), presents
Building Healthier Communities through the Power of Effective Networking
Conference. The conference goal is to provide a forum that promotes the
identification of networking opportunities that reduce health
disparities and build healthier communities. Panel discussions include
outreach and client recruitment, case management services, and bedtime
and naptime basics for babies. Wednesday, April 22, 8:00 a.m -5:00 p.m.,
at Gallaudet University, Kellogg Conference Hotel, 800 Florida Avenue,
NE. Register now. Log onto http://www.doh.dc.gov
or call 442-5925. Deadline for registration, April 20. Continuing
Education Units (CEU’s) will be offered for social workers, registered
nurses, and health educators.
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CLASSIFIEDS — HELP WANTED
Legal Assistant
Jon Katz, justice(at)katzjustice(dot)com
Highly-rated criminal defense lawyer in Silver Spring, Maryland,
seeks to replace his outgoing full-time legal assistant who is going to
law school. See full details at http://katzjustice.com/JOBS.htm#apply
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