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April 12, 2009

State Meants

Dear Staters:

I wrote in the last issue of themail about the current campaign to pass the DC Voting Rights Act, which would give the DC congressional delegate a floor vote in the House of Representatives. I asked whether DC’s local elected officials really want that bill to pass, given their behavior. (One reader, who did not want his message printed, wondered whether local politicians would rather sabotage the congressional vote on the bill than have it passed and be found to be unconstitutional.)

Previously, on February 15, I asked in themail whether anyone knew what exactly DC residents wanted the relationship between our local government and the federal government to be, and how important the issue is to DC’s citizens. Is a floor vote in the House of Representatives really that important to the average citizen of Washington? During the period when Delegate Eleanor Holmes Norton had a floor vote, did that vote make any substantive difference in our lives or in the governance of the District? Did we feel any more American, any more like full citizens of the United States, any more politically empowered? Can anyone cite any specific benefit that accrued to DC residents? If not, what would be different this time around, should the bill pass?

And if not, what could satisfy those who want full self-government and political equality, and how could that desire be fulfilled constitutionally? Retrocession of the District to Maryland, leaving a federal remnant to serve as the national capital, could be done by a Congressional vote and would not require a Constitutional amendment. However, it would require Maryland’s consent; Congress could not foist the District off on an unwilling Maryland. In addition, DC would then be just a city in Maryland, and the state of Maryland would exercise much greater oversight over the budget and laws of the District than the federal government does now. Advocates of statehood bristle at the thought of a superior government’s having any oversight over the government of the District; they would never settle for the kind of oversight that states have over every other city in the nation.

Admitting the District to the union as a state would require the full statehood process outlined in Section 3, Clause 1, of the Constitution. This was tried previously in 1978, when Congress passed the DC Voting Rights Amendment. At that time, statehood for DC failed because the Congressional bill wasn’t ratified by enough states during the next seven years. It could be tried again, with a more active nationwide campaign to gain states’ approvals. Any other change in the status of the District would require a Constitutional amendment, since Constitutional shortcuts like the current DC Voting Rights Act will undoubtedly be challenged in, and most likely be rejected by, the courts.

The congressional vote on the DC Voting Rights Act was supposed to be a cakewalk because of heavy Democratic majorities in both houses and a Democratic president, but it is instead bogged down over District politicians’ continued fight against allowing District residents to have full Second Amendment rights. So where do we go from here, and where should we go from here? Help me understand.

Gary Imhoff
themail@dcwatch.com

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Political Incompetence, Not 2009 Economy, Doomed Ballpark District
Ed Delaney, profeddel@yahoo.com

From http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/04/11/AR2009041102036.html: “Across the country, development has slowed dramatically and left a ballpark that was once a symbol of the city’s hopes a reminder instead of the struggling economy. ‘It just so happens that implementation is occurring during the worst economic downturn in recent history. So things are going to struggle a little bit,’ said Neil O. Albert, the District’s deputy mayor for economic development.” As long as the Post is going to plaster stories about the lack of ballpark-driven development in SE, let’s at least inject reality into the latest attempt to blame current economic conditions for what is largely the fault of the ballpark district planners and developers. It’s garbage that the 2009 economy is why the ballpark area didn’t develop into the promised retail and entertainment destination. Plain and simple, the existing development was driven by the Navy Yard workforce expansion as well as the DOT’s arrival.

The revitalization was well underway by the time the ballpark site was announced in late 2004, making the area much more like an office park than what the baseball brigade had promised. Yet, the site was insisted upon by city planners and developers over the vastly more practical location of RFK Stadium (which is driven home by the number of ballpark patrons who must park at RFK’s parking lots to get to the current ballpark) even as costs blew past legislative cost caps by millions upon millions of dollars, with the reason given that it would drive development around the SE site (ignoring the office-heavy development that was already underway). The same reporters who now attribute the economy for the failure seemed reluctant to question this breakdown in planning, even though it was plain to see with any objective analysis.

As far as retail and entertainment development, most of where that was supposed to start got covered up by the massive garages required by MLB and the Lerners rather than developed by the city as originally planned. The coalition of developers who were assigned by the mayor and council (many of whom had close enough relationships with each other that developers were actually drawing up ballpark-related legislation that was then forwarded by committee heads in the case of Herb Miller and Jack Evans) to carve up the area for their ballpark-related development desires pussyfooted around while the garage drama unfolded, each waiting for someone else to put forward the entertainment and retail options while forwarding more office and residential development (the latter being overpriced condos in an already flooded condo market). As each waited or fought the city or each other in court (see Miller, Akridge, and Monument), the economy worsened, and the already lukewarm confidence in the ballpark district for retail and entertainment potential evaporated as quickly as signs advertising apartment rentals covered the condo sale banners facing the SE-SW Freeway.

Just sticking a ballpark into what is predominantly an office-driven location in a city with more than enough retail and entertainment districts (most of which are on Metro lines that are more traveled than the Green) was never going to magically transform the area into Gallery Place, no matter what the politicians and developers promised. To just chalk it up to the current economy is lazy at best, and covers up for unforgivably incompetent city planning at worst.

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Take the Save the Anacostia River Trust and License Tag Survey Now
Samuel Jordan, samunomas@msn.com

The April 1 hearing on the Anacostia River Clean Up and Protection Act of 2009 focused on a legislative proposal that would set a fee of five cents for each bag used to wrap purchases from participating grocery stores and carry out shops. Feelings are strong on either side of the issue. My purpose at the hearing was to promote a proposal that could supplement the funds generated by the fee-based “Clean Up” program or stand alone as an independent source of voluntary contributions to support grants to schools, community organizations, nonprofits, etc. for public engagement in river cleanup and restoration projects. The proposal is called the Save The Anacostia River Trust and License Tag program (START). It is patterned after the Chesapeake Bay Trust (CBT) as an independent, non-governmental, nonprofit organization. START would generate revenues from three sources: 1) Specialty license plates requiring a $25 dollar donation above the cost of normal vehicle registration; 2) a DC income tax check off donation from willing tax payers; and 3) donations from foundations, individuals, and decedents’ estates. Based on the experience of the CBT, at least $350,000 to $500,000 could be generated annually from the first two revenue streams alone. Tailored marketing could increase the income potential of this program.

By way of comparison, the five-cent solution would require the purchase of two million bags to raise $100,000. With one or two cents going to the merchant, that two million bags would return only $60,000 to $80,000 to be used to support thirteen categories of expenditures in the legislation. In order for the five-cent proposal to raise $500,000 like START, ten million bags would have to be paid for at five cents each by consumers at the point of purchase — and that’s before the merchant’s cut is deducted. The five-cent per bag proposal is also self-extinguishing. As more consumers bring their own reusable bags, revenues generated by the five-cent program will decrease.

If you would like to contribute to the clean up and restoration of the Anacostia River and its tributaries with the option of a completely voluntary program, please register your support at http://www.kwiksurveys.com/online-survey.php?surveyID=HODJM_18be1340. It asks whether you support the creation of the Save The Anacostia River Trust and License Tag program (START). The results of the survey will be submitted to members of the DC council on April 30. The more support, the greater the chance that START will be enacted.

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Off to a Roaring Start
Ed T. Barron, edtb1@macdotcom

Though the Nationals look good on paper, paper doesn’t play on the field. The team has lost its first four games and will likely return to DC for its Monday home opener 0 for 6. At this point I’m inclined to believe that their “good guy” manager, Manny Acta, is not the right guy for this team. There are some good guy managers in MLB that, somehow, get good performance from their players. Acta is not one of these. It’s easy to blame the manager when players don’t perform, but in this case that criticism seems deserved. Players perform when they are motivated. Contrary to most beliefs, motivation comes from within, from the mind and the heart, not from external sources. When players and teams have goal congruence the players will play their hearts out. When they don’t play as a team, they lose. The Nationals need someone who can create an environment that makes players want to win, not just play. Looks like another hundred-game losing season.

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One Dozen Citizens Socked PG’s Soccer Stadium
Jacques Chevalier, II, jacques.chevalier@comcast.net

Well, we can say loudly and proudly we beat back Victor McFarlane, his well-paid lobbyists, and his donating lots of money to several PG politicians and developers. There were negotiations commencing two years ago with our elected leaders and paid lobbyists, who were clever at keeping the proposed deal a secret from the public. Once hearings had to be scheduled, a dozen activists went berserk and acted with dignity to halt this bad and crooked deal that would have hurt the taxpayers in Prince Georges County, Md. In Annapolis and Upper Marlboro we demanded (lobbied if you are sensitive) that our leaders not rip off the taxpayers to develop a soccer stadium benefiting a rich man who wanted to provide only menial part-time jobs to local residents. Also, we knew neither the game attendees nor the labor pool were from here.

The dozen dignitaries in opposition included Sandy Pruitt, Ruth Wright, Joseph Kitchen, Jerry McLaurin, Jerry Mathis, Elizabeth Rivera, Robert Bowers, Carl Allen, and Judy Robinson, the silent majority who sent E-mails, and your truly, Jacques Chevalier, II. (I know I left out some names; please forgive me.)

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DMV Records
Jack McKay, jack.mckay@verizon.net

Last month I noted that the Department of Motor Vehicles rejected my on-line registration renewal, asserting, wrongly, that our car had not had its DC inspection. This is not the first time that the DMV has done this to me. I took my proof of inspection down to the inspection station on Half Street, where a sharp young fellow recognized the problem: somebody at the DMV had confused the digit zero and the letter “O” in the VIN — the Vehicle Identification Number — and so the records are confounded, as the DMV computer thinks that the car inspected is not the car being registered.

He corrected the VIN on the DMV computer, so all was well, right? Um, not so fast. Back to the online registration, where the DMV claimed that “you have an incomplete transaction in progress,” and no, I couldn’t renew my registration there. Okay, back to the DMV, to do the job in person. But there — the Georgetown office, this time — they claimed that the computer showed that the renewal was already done. Odd, our attempts had failed, so how was this so? The kind lady didn’t know how to renew an already-renewed registration, so I left empty-handed. And no, after another week, no registration card has arrived in the mail, even as the expiration date for my current registration approaches. By the way, driving a vehicle with an expired registration is an offense taken so seriously that the police will cuff you on the spot and haul you off to jail. My wife — it’s her car — is not happy.

Then there’s my query to “Ask the Director” on the DMV Web site, for guidance to resolving this problem. What, did you actually expect somebody at the DMV to provide an answer to your question? How naive. No, you can ask all you want, but neither the Director nor anyone else at the District DMV is offering any answers. OK, DMV, now what do I do?

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Celebrating Dupont Circle
John Hockensmith, president@dupont-circle.org

Celebrating Dupont Circle is a new community project, celebrating the history, present, and future of Dupont Circle and environs. We plan to celebrate many aspects of Dupont Circle in the city of Washington DC. 1) Its significance in the history of the city; having a walking tour with markers about the Circle’s residents, architecture, and its importance in the development of the city. 2) The park itself and its environs: adding to seasonal plantings, more flowers, and starting a demonstration vegetable garden with the help of both children and adults in the area, involving schoolchildren from local schools. 3) Relating to the historical plan of the park to recreate some of aspects of its original design. 4) Creating Friends programs to help support plantings, trees, benches, and paving; adoption programs, such as adopt a tree and adopt a bench; programs to donate particular plantings; and programs to have dog members. We want to have participation by residents and other friends, children, and local businesses; and have gatherings in the Circle with music and other events.

Committee Chairperson for the Dupont Circle Citizens Association is Emily Goldblatt. Please contact her at goldenlily88@yahoo.com, 580-5055. Log in to the DCCA web site at http://www.dupont-circle.org and become a member of the Parks Committee. This will enable you to receive more details from Emily on the Celebrating Dupont Circle community project.

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Security at MLK Library
Paul Williams, DCHouseHistory@aol.com

Bryce Suderow noted [themail, April 8] that the metal detector at MLK was recently removed from the front entrance. I’m a frequent user of the Washingtoniana Division, and I posted several years ago about the security at MLK: the machine never worked anyway. Has anyone ever heard it actually sound a beep? You could carry through anything, and after awhile, I did. Why not? Umbrellas, pockets full of change and keys, cell phones, cameras, you name it. And if you did bother to send anything through the belt, the person manning the machine was usually looking somewhere else, or talking to another security officer, never glancing at the screen. It became a game of mine to see that happen every week! They may have cameras, but I’m assuming they are also looking elsewhere.

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Voting Rights
Kesh Ladduwahetty, DC for Democracy, keshinil@yahoo.com

Since you quoted me in your piece on voting rights [themail, April 8, quote from Councilmember Michael Brown’s press release], I wish to respond. As I have made clear in my letter to the editor published in the Washington Post on March 25 [http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/03/24/AR2009032403359.html], as well as in my testimony at the public forum on April 7, this is not just about guns. The Home Rule Act of 1973 devolved power to the District’s local government. While it maintained Congressional veto power, it does not allow Congress to interfere willy-nilly in our local affairs. S.160, the Senate version of the bill that was passed, is extremely ambiguous about what constitutes inappropriate regulation and would permanently strip our local government of its ability to regulate guns. This is a serious infringement of the Home Rule Act. In addition, of course, there is an extreme lack of thought and responsibility in the wording of the Ensign amendment, as pointed out in the recent Post editorial.

Eleanor Holmes Norton does not have authority to negotiate over the terms of Home Rule in order to pass the voting rights act, or any other legislation. No single official has that power. If we are to permanently amend the Home Rule Act, that should be done with due deliberation by our mayor, city council, and the direct input of the people of the District of Columbia.

I would have thought that you, who are generally so sensitive to protocol and procedure, should realize that.

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Voting Rights and Civil Rights
Brigid Quinn, brigidq@yahoo.com

Your assertion that support for gay marriage is tantamount to legalizing drugs and supporting North Korea’s nuclear weapons program is petulant at best [themail, April 8]. It’s surprising how many people don’t find the notion of gay marriage as politically far-fetched as you do. For example, the Supreme Court of the state of Iowa, hardly a bastion of liberalism, didn’t find it a stretch to support gay marriage in a recent ruling. This included one Republican judge who noted, “The legislature has excluded a historically disfavored class of persons from a supremely important civil institution without a constitutionally sufficient justification.” What a shame it would be if the District government’s expression of support for increased self determination for its residents compromised the rights of its gay and lesbian citizens. Fortunately, it hasn’t.

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Closing the Department of Mental Health
Bryce A. Suderow, streetstories@juno.com

I don’t understand why nobody commented when I revealed that the City is closing down the Department of Mental Health. Don’t any of you care about this?

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April InTowner Now Online
P.L. Wolff, intowner@intowner.com

This is to advise that the April 2009 on-line 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 & 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 May 8 (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) “Preservation Board’s Order Landmarking Church Nixed by Federal District Court”; 2) “Mt. Pleasant Branch Library Expansion and Site Planning Actively Involving Affected Residents”; 3) “New Park to be Created in Columbia Heights”; 4) “Reconstructing Historic Holt House.”

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CLASSIFIEDS — EVENTS

Department of Parks and Recreation Events, April 13-14
John Stokes, john.astokes@dc.gov

Monday, April 13, 10:00 a.m.-12:00 p.m., Hillcrest Recreation Center, 3100 Denver Street, SE. Easter egg hunt for ages 3-2. Youth will participate in an Easter egg hunt to will win candy and prizes. For more information, call Orvin Wright at 645-9200

Monday, April 13, 11:30 a.m.-5:00 p.m., Stead Recreation Center, 1625 P Street, NW. Zoo trip for ages 6-13. Participants will take a trip to the Zoo for the annual Easter celebration. For more information, call Jacquay Plummer at 673-4465.

Monday, April 13, 12:00 p.m.-4:00 p.m., King Greenleaf Recreation Center, 201 N Street, SW. Easter egg hunt and cook out for all ages. Kids hunt for Easter eggs that are filled with special sweets and treats. There will also be good eats, hot and fresh from the grill! For more information, call Shannon Campbell, Recreation Specialist, at 645-7454.

Monday, April 13, 12:00 p.m.-4:00 p.m., Raymond Recreation Center, 915 Spring Road, NW. Easter egg hunt for ages 13 and under. Youth will enjoy field activities including kickball, dodge ball, tee ball and three leg races. For more information, call Ellsworth Hart at 576-6856.

Monday, April 13, 1:00 p.m.-3:00 p.m., Trinidad Recreation Center, 1310 Childress Street, NE. Easter egg hunt for ages 12 and under. Youth will compete in a hunt for Easter eggs, candy and prizes. Light refreshments will be served. For more information, call Anthony Higginbotham, Site Manager, at 727-1293.

Monday, April 13, 1:00 p.m.-3:00 p.m., North Michigan Park Community Center, 1333 Emerson Street, NE. Easter egg hunt and relay for ages 6-12. Youth participants will compete in an Easter egg hunt, relay race and other low impact activities. For more information, call Joseph Clark, Site Manager, 541-3522

Monday, April 13, 1:00 p.m.-3:00 p.m., Chevy Chase Community Center, 5601 Connecticut Avenue, NW. Funny face Monday for ages 3 and up. Celebrate Easter Monday with games, face painting, a traditional egg hunt, and refreshments! For more information, call Fran Scott at 282-2204.

Monday, April 13, 2:00 p.m.-4:00 p.m., Kalorama Recreation Center, 1875 Columbia Road, NW. Easter egg hunt for ages 5-12. Kids will be broken into age groups to hunt for eggs. Prizes will be handed out and light refreshment will be served. For more information, call Mona Scott at 673-7606.

Tuesday, April 14, 12:00 p.m.-2:30 p.m., Riggs LaSalle Community Center, 501 Riggs Road, NE. Tea Party for ages 18 and up. Spring forth with our annual tea party. Participants will enjoy a variety of teas and refreshments in a social setting. For more information, call Shirleta Settles, Site Manager, at 576-5224.

Tuesday, April 14, 4:30 p.m.-8:00 p.m., Douglass Community Center, 2100 Frederick Douglass Court and Stanton Terrace, SE. Dinner and a movie for ages 15-17. Participants will enjoy a wonderful time watching a movie and eating a delightful meal at Union Station. For more information, call Barbara Jones at 645-3980.

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Capitol Hill Energy Coop Meeting, April 14
Lisa Alfred, lalfred@wdchumanities.org

There will be a Capitol Hill energy coop meeting on Tuesday, April 14, 7:00-9:00 p.m., at Capitol Hill United Methodist Church at 421 Seward Square, SE (5th Street and Pennsylvania Avenue). There will be speakers from Live Green, Green Living Consulting, and Urban Gardeners. For more information, go to http://www.capitolhillenergycoop.org

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Free Workshops on Funding for Community Organizations, April 14
Lisa Alfred, lalfred@wdchumanities.org

The Humanities Council of Washington, DC is offering funding to tell your neighborhood or community story. Stop by the grant workshop to find out about funding requirements. Tuesday April 14, 12:00 to 1:30 p.m., at Anacostia Community Museum, 1901 Fort Place, SE; and 5:30 to 7:00 p.m. at the Humanities Council of Washington, DC, 925 U Street, NW. Free. For further information, call 387-8391, or RSVP at http://www.wdchumanities.org

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Dupont Circle Main Streets Fundraiser, April 21
Paul Williams, execdirector@dupontcircle.biz

The Historic Dupont Circle Main Streets’ annual Spring Fling event! A friendly reminder to buy your tickets now to our Spring Fling, being held at the historic Carnegie Institution on April 21 from 6:00-9:00 p.m. (1530 P Street, NW). Your $25 tickets include an open bar, light dinner, desserts, and access to the largest silent auction we have ever assembled. A great value in these harsh economic times! Buy your advance ticket for quick admittance at http://www.dupontcircle.biz

Everybody is welcome, and you just may go home with a value-priced vacation, oriental rug, restaurant meals, original artwork, gym membership, a house history, a sailboat cruise on the Chesapeake Bay, a great vacation in Cape May, or even a new bike! We’ll also be revealing our completed landscaping and irrigation plans for the Connecticut Avenue median project, between R and T Streets.

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