Mediation
Dear Mediators:
Iris Toyer, below, writes about the situation of Nathan Saunders, the
general vice president of the Washington Teachers Union. Saunders has
been reassigned from his union duties back to classroom duties by Vice
Chancellor Kaya Henderson because of what had been an unspecified
problem with his papers applying for a routine leave of absence from DC
Public Schools to serve as a union official. There has been much
speculation about what that problem was, but the question has now been
settled by Candi Peterson.
Tonight, Peterson has published on her blog, The Washington Teacher,
an exchange of E-mails between Saunders and George Parker, the WTU’s
president (http://tinyurl.com/ck8rr9).
It turns out that Parker, who has been feuding with Saunders, has
discredited himself by refusing to sign Saunders’ leave papers, giving
his approval for the leave. In his E-mail, Parker taunts Saunders by
laughably claiming to be too busy to “research” the application, and
by claiming that he has to consult with the union’s attorney before
signing. Kaya Henderson’s actions, meanwhile, are just as disreputable
as Parker’s. DCPS knows full well that Saunders is a duly elected
union official and is entitled to a routine leave of absence to serve in
his union capacity. There is no doubt about that, but Henderson is
exploiting Parker’s meanness and underhandedness in order to keep
Saunders from serving the union. Henderson is acting in bad faith. Union
members and newly named WTU-DCPS contract mediator Kurt Schmoke would be
foolish if they believed that DCPS, which treats union officials with
such disrespect, has any intention of negotiating with the union in good
faith.
There has been some exchange of opinion over same-sex marriage in the
last few issues of themail. Since the city council is currently
considering a bill to recognize same-sex marriages that were performed
in localities where they are legal, and has announced its intention to
consider a bill legalizing performing same-sex marriages in DC, this is
not only an acceptable topic for themail; it’s a timely one. Let me
suggest, though, that both sides of the debate would be more effective
if they concentrated on the likely practical results of such
legislation, and resisted the temptation to try to convince each other
of the superiority of their morality.
Tom Blagburn, a frequent contributor to themail, has died. Whether or
not you knew Tom, you should read Harry Jaffe’s tribute to him. Jaffe
terms Blagburn the “godfather of community policing” in Washington, http://tinyurl.com/cos3ow.
Jim Vance also had a gracious personal tribute to Tom on the evening
news on WRC-TV (NBC4) tonight.
Gary Imhoff
gary@dcwatch.com
###############
DCPS Orders Nathan Saunders to Classroom So As
Not to Perform Union Duties
Iris J. Toyer, iristoyer@verizon.net
A recent flurry of E-mails alerted many of us that Nathan Saunders,
Vice President of the Washington Teachers Union, had been ordered back
to the classroom or face termination. The dispute seems to stem from the
submission or lack thereof of a request for a continued leave of absence
while serving as a paid elected union official. I am neither a union
member nor a teacher. I believe that how our government treats duly
elected representatives of our workers sheds a bright light on how
employees will be treated. How this particular dispute will be resolved
is anyone’s guess.
What readers of themail should know is that the Rhee administration
has ordered the WTU Vice President back to the classroom. He is paid
handsomely by the WTU to represent the membership. There seemed to be
questions as to whether or not WTU officials are in fact employees of
DCPS. In speaking with Mr. Saunders, I learned that paid members of the
WTU do not come off of DCPS’ payroll. They continue to earn leave and
years toward their service, and when their term is over they return to
the classroom. If I remember correctly, they continue to collect their
DCPS salary and WTU pays them the difference between what DCPS pays them
and the higher WTU salary, and also reimburses DCPS (at least that is
supposed to happen). It would be so much cleaner if WTU paid the entire
salary in the beginning. Nathan and one other WTU official did not
collect their salaries from DCPS. His point is you cannot serve two
masters.
Apparently the paperwork that is now being discussed by Kaya
Henderson, Deputy Chancellor, is a new process. Formerly union employees
used the same request for a leave of absence that an employee who is
going on a sabbatical or on extended travel, etc., would use. I am not
sure why Nathan was not informed of the change or who should have
informed him. The fact remains that he is a duly elected member of the
WTU executive team and will continue to be so. This action interferes
with that relationship, which might be the intended purpose. I think
union members ought to ask themselves: if they do it to Saunders in the
morning, what’s to stop them from doing it to me in the evening?
###############
One Branch Library Fights Back Against Ginnie
Cooper
Bryce A. Suderow, streetstories@juno.com
In previous postings I’ve described how DC Library Director Ginnie
Cooper removed thousands of books from DC library shelves, packed them
in boxes, took them downtown and then — it’s not clear if this was
her decision or the mistake of a subordinate — sold them on amazon.com.
Hundreds of thousands of dollars worth of wonderful books vanished from
this city in a few months.
Eastern Market Branch Library furnishes a good example of what
happened everywhere. Before Ginnie arrived, its collection of children’s
books was the envy of every library in the city, the result of hard work
by one or two stellar children’s librarians. Today all the timeless
classics of the last fifty years that those librarians acquired have
been removed. Only children’s authors who are currently writing remain
in the collection. While the valuable collection at Eastern Market
Branch Library was destroyed, the so-called “Friends of the Library”
did nothing to protect the collection. Explain to me how you can be a
friend to a library and watch its very guts get torn out as its great
books are boxed, removed and sold.
In my opinion, this group of losers ought to be called “Enemies of
the Library” for the damage they’ve a party to. Theirs was the most
shameful performance I’ve witnessed in my twenty years of living in
Washington, DC. And the “Friends” at every other library in the city
engaged in this same gutless, contemptible behavior. But there is hope.
I learned today that one branch library and its Friends are fighting
back against Ginnie Cooper. Using money furnished by their Friends
group, the Chevy Chase Branch has been buying back its previously lost
collection on Amazon! These citizens and these librarians are sending a
clear signal to Cooper that she was wrong and that they want their old
collection back. It’s to be hoped that the Friends of the Library at
Eastern Market Branch and all the other branches will come to their
senses and help their branch libraries buy back the collections that
Cooper ruthlessly sold. Perhaps then they can regain the self respect
they lost while groveling before Cooper.
###############
Expedited Notice or Expired Notice
Gottlieb Simon, OANC@yahoogroups.com
This year’s so-called “Budget Support Act” contains an
amendment to the ANC law. On its face it might seem to be enhancing the
government’s responsibility to give information to ANCs. This
impression is promoted by the arguably misleading title of the
amendment, “Expedited Advisory Neighborhood Commission Permits
Notification.” The amendment says DCRA “shall ensure that each
Advisory Neighborhood Commissioner is provided with a current list of
applications for construction, demolition, and public space permits
within the boundaries of their Advisory Neighborhood Commission.”
The language of the amendment, however, does not make it clear that
it is actually removing some words from the current law, not adding
anything not already there. The amendment would remove the phrase “at
least twice a month by first-class mail” from the requirement that the
DCRA provide this information to the ANCs. The new language would say
only that DCRA shall ensure that each ANC is provided with “a current
list” of applications. Elimination of the paper requirement may be a
good thing. I’m pretty sure that there are a number of commissioners
who would applaud this. At the same time there may be some who could
make a case for obtaining that information by snail mail, or at least
having the choice, if given the chance. Part of the problem with this
proposed change is the way that it is coming. Instead of going through
the normal legislative process where it would be the subject of a
hearing in its own right where the pros and cons could be heard, it is
buried in the Budget Support Act.
Putting process aside, there is also a substantive issue. The
amendment does not explain what a “current list” is. Is annual or
semiannual “current?” If the information does not have to be put on
paper and mailed, then certainly there is no reason why the current
requirement of “at least twice a month” couldn’t be retained. In
fact, weekly or even daily distribution of applications should not be
too much to ask. If the amendment is adopted without specifying how
often the list should be distributed, “expedited notice” may turn
out to mean “expired notice.”
###############
Information Technology Issues and Government
Paul Dionne, news@pauldionne.com
For anyone interested in IT issues and government: I had to do a memo
to a CEO for my MBA IT Strategies course. I chose to do it as a memo to
Mayor Fenty instead. The posting can be found at http://is7142009.blogspot.com/2009/04/memo-to-mayor-adrian-fenty-washington.html
Feel free to leave feedback on the blog site or E-mail me. It’s a
little long because of the number of issues we were asked to cover. I
also don’t presume to know current thoughts on the search for a new
city Chief Technology Officer; I don’t even know if the interim CTO is
in the running. But I had to frame the discussion, so I chose to use the
search as a jumping-off point.
###############
Re Jack McKay’s two posts on residential parking permit issues and
“planning” in Mt. Pleasant (themail, April 19, April 26). I don’t
understand why it is required for the DC city council to legislate
various “performance” parking policies for various “geographies”
of the city. DC doesn’t have a master transportation plan at present,
excepting the Transportation Element within the Comprehensive Land Use
Plan. Arlington County’s transportation plan (http://tinyurl.com/2j2xk5)
starts with an element on goals and policies, and includes an element on
parking and curbside management. The policies and goals of the master
plan specifically shape the polices and actions within the parking
element.
A master transportation plan should require transportation demand
management for institutions and commercial districts, to deal with
transportation demand broadly and proactively. At the same time, this
would give the council and the executive branches cover to deal with
difficult issues such as how much to charge for parking permits, how to
deal with church parking issues, how to deal with commercial district
parking issues, and how commercial district parking demand can leak into
neighborhoods.
Note that because Arlington’s master plan prioritizes optimal
mobility (transit, walking, bicycling), parking policies do not
privilege automobile owners in the same way that current policies
privilege automobile owners in DC currently.
###############
Residential Permit Parking Reform (Continued)
Jack McKay, jack.mckay@verizon.net
My April 26 posting was a bit garbled because a remnant of a previous
posting was inadvertently tacked onto the end. The posting was supposed
to conclude with the following: “This reform of residential permit
parking is, or would be, the first implementation of a ‘Parking
Benefit District’ in DC, a method that is ‘one of the national best
practices being discussed and promoted around the country’ (Donald
Shoup, The High Cost of Free Parking, 2005). But it’s been
brought to an abrupt halt, apparently by people who want commuters from
the suburbs to be allowed to park on our neighborhood streets for free.”
I’m still puzzled over the need for a “community meeting” to
talk about this daytime parking pass program for Mount Pleasant.
Employees of our neighborhood institutions ought to be grateful that the
residents are willing to allow commuter parking on our neighborhood
streets at all, and it’s really looking the gift horse in the mouth to
insist that such commuter parking ought to be free. How many
neighborhoods are willing to open up their residential streets to
commuters, at any price?
But DDOT and Councilmember Graham have indeed scheduled a community
meeting, set for May 19 at Bancroft Elementary, “to discuss the
proposed Day Parking Pass program in Mount Pleasant.” The initial DDOT
plan, as published last October, is for daytime passes for $160 a
calendar quarter, equivalent to about $2.50 a day, a rate chosen to be
comparable to twice-daily bus fare, and which is cheaper than any
commercial parking lot. Most residents think that’s a pretty
reasonable offer, for a parking privilege offered to commuters nowhere
else in the District.
###############
DC Mayor Fires Recreation Workers and Squeezes
Users
Jonetta Rose Barras, rosebook1@aol.com
DC Councilmember Harry “Tommy” Thomas, Jr., blasted this week
Mayor Adrian M. Fenty’s firing of more than two dozen workers at the
Department of Parks and Recreation, including key frontline employees
and critical managers. The terminations and reduction-in-force was
executed late Friday; some individuals were made to stay after office
hours to receive their pink slips. Meanwhile, the mayor is proposing to
increase fees for nearly all District recreation programs and
facilities, according to information in the April 17 issue of the DC
Register. The hike could cause hardship for low-income families and
youth sports team who rely heavily on the DPR’s centers and fields.
And a complaint has been filed with the DC Office of the Inspector
General accusing the city, former Chief Technology Officer Vivek Kundra,
and Chief Contracting and Procurement Officer (OCP) David Gragan with
violating federal labor regulations in conjunction with a contract to
provide technology workers. Read more at the Barras report, http://jrbarras.com./site/?p=540
###############
Sometimes I wonder why we District residents do not employ
referendums to help resolve hotly contested issues or debates. I was
reminded once again about this as I read the Post’s article
about the 150-person “Stand Up for Marriage” rally on Freedom Plaza
(http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/04/28/AR2009042801608.html).
My gut feeling is that a majority of DC residents would not support
either legislation or the council’s resolution in support of gay
marriage. Yet there is a vocal minority led by Catania that acts as
though their sentiments represent the masses, and they proceed without
checking the pulse of all the people. A referendum — especially if
conducted by mail — would provide the data necessary for the council
to legitimately offer or withhold its support on this social matter.
Similarly a referendum on the city’s gun control policy would have
helped the council to craft a gun control law more responsive to the
Supreme Court decision about this public safety issue. I believe that a
vast majority of DC residents, if asked, would support a gun control law
that left criminals wondering if their next home invasion might be their
last because the resident could possess a firearm. And we know where the
present gun law has left us in the quest for improved congressional
representation. You and I could identify other worthy issues (DCPS
reformation, baseball stadium financing, rainy day fund use, council
structure beyond the one-party system, to name a few) that could benefit
from the use of referendums. Although the DC government appears to
emulate the state of California while attempting to “lead the nation”
in one matter or another, it has failed to follow its mentor’s example
on the use of the referendum. As I begin researching the rules behind
their use, feel free to chime in on why referendums have been used so
infrequently over the last fifteen to twenty years.
###############
Due to the principles through which God created the world, love
requires an object. It is quite apparent in the natural and human world,
that God created using the pair system, where male and female, men and
women complement each other. Men and women come together, centered on
love and the higher purpose of forming a family that will create
children. It is also quite apparent that a man or a woman cannot create
a child by themselves, no matter how long they may try. These basic
relationships of family, including the parents and grandparents, form a
nucleus for all relationships in the world, by extension, such as the
brotherhood of all humanity centered upon our one common Creator.
Same sex relationships are out of order with the natural world, as
stated above. Additionally, a Dutch study found that men in homosexual
relationships on average have eight partners a year outside those
relationships. In this aspect, these relationships are not what most
people would consider “marriage.” Also, there is a large degree of
banality and crassness in many such relationships. Consider this post by
ex-gay Greg Quinlan (http://pfox.org/Gays-Hating-Ex-Gays.html) , when
confronted by a former Human Rights Campaign staff member: “At the
booth, Besen (former Human Rights Campaign spokesperson) stuck his
finger in my face and called me a ‘fu*king fag*,’ ‘fu*king co*ksucker,’
‘nellie fairy,’ etc. ‘You’re still having gay sex,’ he yelled
at me. We had to call security to remove him because we were scared for
our safety.”
A world of peace will come when we recognize God’s principles and
follow them. These principles are not a religion, but rather the same
inalienable rights that the Founding Fathers recognized. At that time,
they were a part of the community that was a given, although they were
not always carried out completely, as in the case of slavery.
Relationships of love come centered on higher values. When these
universal principles are discarded in favor of banal, crass
relationships, the very core of society is threatened. We must awaken to
this fact and vigorously defend the institution of marriage between and
man and a woman.
###############
CLASSIFIEDS — EVENTS
DC Courts Law Day Open House, May 1
Leah H. Gurowitz, leah.gurowitz@dcsc.gov
The DC Courts will host an open house for all area residents on May 1
from 10:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. There will be programs of interest to those
of all ages, including a judicial town hall meeting with the two chief
judges and the presiding judges taking questions from the audience; and
workshops on topics of interest, such as Bankruptcy and Debt Management,
“I’m not Rich, Why do I Need a Will?”, and child support, elder
abuse, and guardianship issues. Over a dozen DC Bar pro bono clinics and
legal service providers will have information tables in the Moultrie
Courthouse atrium, where attendees can get free legal assistance. There
will be information booths on all Superior Court divisions and programs,
including Crime Victims Compensation Program and the Domestic Violence
Intake Centers; a job fair with information on jobs available at the DC
Courts; mock trials by DC Street Law with District high school students;
a mock trial program for third grade students called “Stay on the
Right Side of the Law”; mock mediations, so attendees can see how
mediation works; information on the Superior Court’s Community
Referral Program, which provides mediation of neighborhood disputes
without a case having to be filed; a display called The Wills Project
(an exhibit of thirteen wills of famous Washingtonians, including
Frederick Douglass and several US Presidents); and courtrooms in session
so the public can observe proceedings, as always. For more information,
go to http://www.dccourts.gov and
click on the link in the ‘You are Invited’ box or call 879-1700.
###############
See the book and documentary premiere of City Unmasked on
Friday, May 1, 5:30 p.m.-8:30 p.m., at the German Historical Institute,
1607 New Hampshire Avenue, NW. Free. Soul of the City, the youth
leadership development program of the Humanities Council of Washington,
DC, will be premiering City Unmasked. Come and support forty DCPS
youth who wrote a book, produced a documentary, and created a work of
art in one week during their April spring break. To RSVP, go to http://www.wdchumanities.org
or call 387-8391.
###############
Department of Parks and Recreation Events, May
1-4
John Stokes, john.astokes@dc.gov
Sundays through June 7, 1:00 p.m.-3:00 p.m., Friendship Recreation
Center (baseball field), 4500 Van Ness Street, NW. Adapted Baseball for
ages seven to twelve. Continuing every Sunday until June 7, the TR
Center will host adapted baseball for children with special needs. For
more information, call Victoria Cole-Rolon, CTRS Manager at 645-6516.
Every Monday, Wednesday and Friday throughout the month of May, 7:30
a.m.-8:30 a.m. and 9:00 a.m.-10:00 a.m., Turkey Thicket Aquatic
Facility, 1100 Michigan Avenue, NE. Senior water aerobics for ages
fifty-five and up. This class promotes muscle strength, endurance, and
tones large muscle groups. This is a high energy aerobics class for
active seniors in the community.
May 1, 9:00 a.m.-5:00 p.m., Turkey Thicket Aquatic Facility, 1100
Michigan Avenue, NE. CPR Class, ages fifteen and up. To learn the role
of a Professional Rescuer in providing emergency care to the patrons in
the Aquatic Facilities, to perform specialized skills and techniques in
the proper and safe use of the Automatic External Defibrillator (AED).
May 1, 10:30 a.m.-2:00 p.m., National Arboretum, Bladensburg Road and
New York Avenue, NE. Seniors aged 55 and up will enjoy an afternoon
visit to the National Arboretum while enjoying a picnic lunch. For more
information, call Ben Butler, Site Manager for Senior Programs, at
645-9200.
May 1, 1:00 p.m.-3:00 p.m., Fort Stevens Recreation Center, 1327 Van
Buren Street, NW. DPR Senior Services Division in conjunction with the
Office of Veterans Affairs presents a tribute to veterans in honor of
Military Appreciation Month. Seniors aged 55 and up. For more
information, call Louis Jones at 541-3752.
May 1, 6:00 p.m.-8:00 p.m., Watkins Recreation Center, 420 12th
Street, SE. Mother’s Day Makeover. Come out and enjoy a relaxing
evening of pampering with a complimentary facial and makeover for a more
beautiful you on Mother’s Day. For more information, call Minyon
Roberts, Recreation Specialist, at 724-4468.
May 2, 9:00 a.m.-1:00 p.m., Joseph H. Cole Recreation Center, 1200
Morse Street, NE. Beautification Day. The community and Friends of
Joseph Cole Recreation Center will take part in several projects to
restore the charm and luster of the facility. Projects include painting,
cleaning and gardening. For more information call Simmeon Williams, Site
Manager at 724-4876.
May 2, 10:00 a.m.-12:00 p.m., Twin Oaks Garden, 14th Street and
Taylor Street, NW. Organic Gardening and Lawn Care Workshop. Learn
helpful eco-friendly tips for gardening and for general lawn care.
Specifically learn about holistic pest control practices, and proper
fertilization techniques. Gardeners of all levels are welcome to attend.
Free gardening tools and handouts to all that attend. This month learn
about container gardening and green roofing. For more information, call
Kelly Melsted, Environmental Education Specialist, at 671-0396.
May 2, 12:00 p.m.-4:00 p.m., Columbia Heights Recreation Center, 1480
Girard Street, NW, gymnasium. Jewels of Howard Gala. This is a closing
ceremony being held in the gymnasium for our Jewels mentoring program.
The participants will give demonstrations of what they learned during
the workshop with the teens including how to interview and the college
application process. For more information, call Dallas Tucker at
671-0373.
May 2, 1:00 p.m.-3:00 p.m., Sherwood Recreation Center, 640 10th
Street, NE. Adapted Karate for ages seven through twelve. The adapted
karate program will offer children with special needs an opportunity to
learn skills and techniques in karate. For more information, call
Victoria Cole-Rolon, CTRS, Manager, at 645-6516.
May 2, 2:45 p.m.-3:45 p.m., Hillcrest Recreation Center, 3100 Denver
Street, SE. Got Rhythm? This program is designed to offer music therapy
to children aged seven to twelve with and without disabilities, a change
to understand different modes of rhythm, with the use of everyday
household items and actual instruments. For more information, call
Victoria Cole-Rolon, CTRS, Manager, at 645-6516.
May 3, 12:30 p.m.-3:00 p.m., Takoma Aquatic Center, 300 Van Buren
Street, NW. Scuba Program for Youth ages 9-17. The Scuba Bound program
is for youth interested in learning basic scuba skills.
May 3, 10, 17, and 24, 9:00 a.m.-5:00 p.m., Takoma Aquatic Center,
300 Van Buren Street, NW. Lifeguard Training Class, ages fifteen and up.
Prepare the lifeguard candidate in the skills and knowledge necessary
for respond to aquatic emergencies, including First Aid and CPR.
May 4, 1:30 p.m.-2:15 p.m., Center for Therapeutic Recreation, 3030 G
Street, SE, Funk-A-Robics for ages eighteen and up. Low impact and
adaptive funk music style aerobic work out for seniors and adults with
special needs. For more information, call Victoria Cole-Rolon, CTRS
Manager, or Cheryl Thompson-Walker, Pool Manager, at 645-6516 or
645-8705.
May 4, 5:00 p.m.-7:00 p.m., Kennedy Recreation Center, 1401 7th
Street, NW. Let’s Explore How Electricity Works. Participants ages six
and up will discover the basics of how modern electricity works.
Participants will explore the process and use of the electromagnetic
force in our daily lives. For more information, call Curtis Mozie at
671-4794.
May 4-8, 10:00 a.m., Emery Recreation Center, 5801 Georgia Avenue,
NW. DC Golden Olympics Opening Ceremony and Events. The twenty-sixth
Annual DC Golden Olympics will feature medal competition in eighteen
sports, including swimming, tennis, track and field, basketball, table
tennis, volleyball and more. The yearly competition, hosted by the DPR
in partnership with the DC Office on Aging, showcases the athletic
prowess of District residents ages fifty and above. The games provide an
excellent way for seniors to maintain or improve their physical and
mental condition as well as their coordination, while enjoying some
friendly competition. To view the entire schedule of events, visit
dpr.dc.gov. For more information, call Jennifer Hamilton at 664-7153.
May 4-15, 4:00 p.m.-8:00 p.m., Turkey Thicket Aquatic Facility, 1100
Michigan Avenue, NE. Lifeguard Training Class, ages fifteen and up. This
training class prepares the lifeguard candidate with the skills and
knowledge necessary to respond to aquatic emergencies, including First
Aid and CPR.
###############
She’s Back, May 5
Jonetta Rose Barras, jrosemedia@aol.com
Jonetta Rose Barras returns to local airwaves. Listen every Tuesday,
beginning May 5, at 11:00 a.m. to noon, to “DC Politics with Jonetta”
on WPFW-FM. 89.3. Hot and spicy political discussions and analyses. For
more information: jrosemedia@aol.com
or 882-2838.
###############
Our Father Maciel
Book
Talk, May 7
Beth Meyer, kensington.books@verizon.net
Thursday, May 7, 7:30 p.m. Reading/author talk by J. Paul Lennon,
author of Our Father Maciel, Who Art in Bed: A Naive and Sentimental
Dubliner in the Legion of Christ. The author was one of the first
Irish recruits of the Legion of Christ, a very successful religious
order founded by Father Maciel and approved by the Vatican. What Paul
observed as he struggled with an austere and rigorous training system
was the lavish lifestyle Fr. Maciel, “Nuestro Padre,” enjoyed,
justified apparently by his multiple illnesses. Years after leaving, the
author learned about credible accusations of Maciel’s sexually abusing
his seminarians, from bed; thence the title.
Fr. Maciel and the order’s leaders vigorously denied those
allegations up to the founder’s death in January 2008. Mr. Lennon was
sued by the Legion in August 2007 for “scurrilously criticizing” the
Legion and “stealing personal and proprietary material”;
subsequently Legion lawyers made him take down a discussion board where
ex-members aired the order’s dirty laundry. Now, two years later,
Legion leaders have revealed that Fr. Maciel fathered a now
twenty-year-old daughter. The public is demanding more information and
reform from the Legion, while the order and its lay branch, Regnum
Christi (Kingdom of Christ) maintain they are, nevertheless, divinely
inspired.
This honest testimony of one who has been on the inside attempts to
shed some light on the controversial phenomenon of the Legion of Christ
religious order and its lay branch, Regnum Christi. The intimate
narrative is enlivened with quotes from Siddhartha and with the lyrics
of songs that accompanied the author growing up in Dublin, traveling to
Spain and Italy, working in Mexico, and finally “landing” on the
shores of the Potomac in 1985 to recover from his ordeal. Though a
cautionary tale, the story exudes healing and hope as the author comes
to terms with himself, God and the Catholic Church. At Kensington Row
Bookshop, 3786 Howard Avenue, Kensington, MD.
###############
National Building Museum Events, May 7
Jazmine Zick, jzick@nbm.org
May 7, 6:30-8:00 p.m., Graying Suburbs. As America’s elderly
population continues to grow, municipalities face new challenges of
providing adequate services. Ellen Dunham-Jones, AIA, of the Georgia
Institute of Technology and co-author of Retrofitting Suburbia: Urban
Design Solutions for Redesigning Suburbs, and Jeffery W. Anderzhon,
FAIA, 2006 chair of AIA’s Design for Aging Advisory Board, discuss
solutions to this upcoming demographic crisis. Elinor Ginzler, AARP’s
senior vice president for Livable Communities, moderates. $12 Museum and
AARP members; $12 students; $20 nonmembers. At the National
Building Museum, 401 F Street, NW, Judiciary Square stop, Metro Red
Line. Register for events at http://www.nbm.org.
###############
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