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
################
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.
###############
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.
###############
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.
###############
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.)
###############
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?
###############
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.
###############
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.
###############
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.
###############
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.
###############
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?
###############
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
###############
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
###############
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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