Traveling Light
Dear Travelers:
In the twentieth century, there was explosive development in two
areas of daily life: transportation and entertainment. Travel over both
land and sea hadn’t changed much for centuries before the nineteenth
century. Land travel meant walking and riding horses and horse carts;
sea travel involved row boats and sailing ships. The invention of the
steam engine in the late 1700’s led to both steam trains and steam
ships in the nineteenth century. But in the twentieth century, methods
of travel changed dramatically. Horses were replaced by automobiles
except for sport riding. (This was, by the way, a great boon for cities,
which became much less noisy, dirty, and smelly as a result.) Airplanes
were invented and progressively improved until they became the major
method of long-distance travel, replacing ships and trains for practical
transportation, and reducing ships and trains to use for cargo transport
and leisure travel.
In 1903, the twin transportation fascinations of trains and horses
met in the first western movie, The Great Train Robbery, and they
have dominated western movies ever since. The year before, Georges
Melies made one of the first major movie hits, Le Voyage dans la lune,
about astronomers’ trip to the moon. For the remainder of the century,
motion pictures were literally about motion — the wonders of
automobiles, airplanes, space travel — and about thrilling audiences
by showing motion. (The most fascinating sequence of Martin Scorcese’s
The Aviator relates how Howard Hughes solved the problem of showing the
speed of airplanes while filming Wings. Airplanes looked slow or even
standing still when filmed against an empty sky; they looked fast only
when filmed in front of clouds, which gave a reference point by which to
judge their relative speed.) From the beginning of the century, movies
chronicled the growth of the automobile and aviation industries.
Prior to the twentieth century, all entertainment except for personal
reading was live and in person. The twentieth century brought audio
recordings, radio, movies, television, and then video recordings —
dominating the entertainment world and pushing live performances to the
edge. (The irony is that digital technology has made copying music and
video so easy that the economic model for art in the twentieth century
— selling recorded copies — is now endangered. Live performances are
replacing recordings as the primary income source for hit musicians, and
even writers are exploring lecture tours, like those Dickens and Mark
Twain did in the nineteenth century, as major sources of income.)
Because of the ability to record motion, movies preserved the record of
the development of cars and planes from their earliest days, and
indulged our fascination with them.
The romance of the open — and even of the clogged — road is not
over. “Smart growth” advocates will do everything they can to make
driving more inconvenient and expensive, but the vast majority of people
will continue to prefer the flexibility, freedom, and — yes — fun of
driving to mass transit or bicycling. An excerpt from P.J. O’Rourke’s
latest book, Driving Like Crazy, was published in the Wall
Street Journal. It celebrates the joy of driving and the romance of
the road, but claims that those days are over (“The End of the Affair,”
http://tinyurl.com/lboga2). O’Rourke’s mistake is to think of
driving fun in narrow terms. Fun isn’t just sports cars and muscle
cars going twenty or thirty miles over the speed limit. It’s also the
toy cars — Volkswagen bugs in the 1960’s and smart cars today —
that make everybody smile. (Conservatives are making a mistake
demonizing smart cars and other inexpensive “cute” cars — they’re
a joy to have in the driveway, not a sign of snobbish liberal
environmentalism.) Fun is also the comfy, cushy sedans associated with
staid uncles and aunts. (The much derided long commute may be boring to
some, but to many others a solo hour or half hour in the luxury sedan is
a great relief — time alone with their own thoughts, in a driver’s
seat as comfortable as the best chair in the house, listening to the
music they choose and want to hear.) Fun is the pickups that let their
owners feel they can do any job they need to do. Subways and buses are
the appliances, conveniences that can be appreciated but are never
loved. Cars of all types may just be four wheels and a motor to some,
but to most they provide the independence and freedom they want.
Here’s the DC connection: drive the 14th Street Bridge over the
Potomac River, and if your timing is right you can see a thrilling
sight. On the bridge will be cars, bicycles, and pedestrians; on the
next two bridges will be a train and a subway car; underneath will be
boats on the Potomac; and above will be airplanes coming in for a
landing at Reagan National Airport. It’s the history of
transportation, of the twentieth century, in one spot.
Gary Imhoff
themail@dcwatch.com
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Christmas in July for Harry Thomas
Paul Craney, pauldcraney@yahoo.com
DC councilmembers are the gift that keeps on giving. As we go into
our Christmas in July weekend, Councilmember Harry Thomas (Ward 5-Dem)
will be in noncompliance for filing his Constituent Service Fund with
the DC Office of Campaign Finance, which was due on July 1. Currently,
the DC Office of Campaign Finance has sent him a letter demanding he
file with them and Councilmember Thomas has still neglected to file his
fund with the OCF. Currently, this matter has been sent to the General
Counsel’s office.
So why does Thomas not file? Maybe he is learning a lesson or two
from his council colleagues. Councilmembers like to use their
Constituent Service Funds for good deeds like paying for funeral
arrangements for a constituent’s death but they also find ways to
spend their funds on non-related expenses. Like drinks at Starbucks or
shopping sprees at H&M or Best Buy. Maybe Councilmember Thomas doesn’t
want to file his Constituent Service Fund, yet, until after the holiday
weekend, District residents are just left in the dark.
Until District residents are willing to register as DC Republicans,
our elected officials will continue to abuse their positions in power at
the expense of District residents.
[On July 24, Tim Craig reported (http://voices.washingtonpost.com/dc/2009/07/better_late_then_never.html)
that Harry Thomas again promised to file his constituent services report
that day. — Gary Imhoff]
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Sosua, The Next Chapter
Dorothy Brizill, dorothy@dcwatch.com
The investigation into how senior District officials in the Executive
Office of the Mayor (EOH) and a friend of the mayor tried to send a
surplus District fire truck and ambulance to the Dominican Republic is
still underway, although progress has been slow. Subpoenas have been
issued and depositions scheduled by Councilmembers Mendelson and Cheh
for David Jannerone, Director of Development, Office of the Deputy Mayor
for Planning and Economic Development; Andrew “Chip” Richardson,
Interim General Counsel to the Mayor; Thorn Pozen, Special Counsel in
the Office of the Attorney General and DC Ethic Counselor; Wilbur C.
Giles, former Chief and Staff and Chief of the Personal Property
Division in the Office of Contracting and Procurement, and currently the
Deputy Director of Contracts and Procurement at the Office of Property
Management, overseeing the Construction Division; and Sinclair Skinner,
a principal with Liberty Engineering and Design and friend
extraordinaire of Mayor Fenty. The depositions have been rescheduled
several times over the past few weeks because Attorney General Peter
Nickles has tried to impede the investigation by insisting that
attorneys from his office be allowed to attend the depositions.
Meanwhile, Sinclair Skinner, who is not a District government employee,
has retained A. Scott Bolden, with Reed Smith, to serve as his legal
counsel.
To assist Mendelson and Cheh in their investigation, the council, at
its last legislative session adopted PR 18-409, which amends the council’s
Rules of Organization and Procedure to allow the Committee on Government
Operations and the Environment, chaired by Cheh, and the Committee on
Public Safety and the Judiciary, chaired by Mendelson, to “hold a
public hearing or roundtable, notice and take depositions, or take any
other action necessary to conduct an investigation” during the period
of the council’s summer recess.
The District’s Inspector General’s office, which is also
investigating “Sosuagate,” met for the first time last week with a
key principle in the controversy, William Walker.
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One Brick — Volunteering Made Easy
Phil Shapiro, pshapiro@his.com
Want to volunteer some of your time, but prefer not to commit to a
weekly volunteer schedule? One Brick is a nonprofit organization that
will match you with a volunteering opportunity here in the DC-area. This
is a good idea. See http://tinyurl.com/62hbfj
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Stamp Out the Ben Franklin Station Post Office
Ann Carper, rochester54@verizon.net
I spent a frustrating twenty minutes yesterday at the post office at
12th and Pennsylvania. Although it was a little before the noon lunch
hour, there was only one clerk handling the six people ahead of me when
I arrived and the fifteen or so behind me when I left. (And there was
also a long line at the self-serve.) When I asked the clerk, nicely,
whom I could complain to about the inadequate staffing, she replied,
also nicely, that the postmaster general didn’t care and she had been
detailed from a Department of Defense branch. A visiting Australian
behind me said in his country the retail aspects of the postal service
are franchises, so the owners have an incentive to run the business
well. I wonder if it could work here?
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The DCPS Stories Project Wants to Hear From
You
Michele Baskin, DCPS Stories Project, dcstories@gmail.com
Are you a DCPS stakeholder? A student, parent, or DCPS staff member?
Do you think you have a story to tell that is not being heard? Are you
frustrated by Special Education services? The violence in your school?
The level of respect in the classrooms, hallways, staff rooms? Do you
have triumphs that you feel are going ignored? Know about amazing
students, teachers, school leaders whose stories need to be told? There
are people who want to hear from you. I, along with concerned others are
involved in the DCPS Stories Project to gather the stories of DCPS
teachers and staff , parents, students and other citizens regarding
their experiences with DCPS educational reform.
We are collecting first hand narratives from students, parents, and
DCPS staff members to use to tell the full story of DCPS and put a human
face on it. Initially, these stories will be presented to the DC council
and Chairman Vincent Gray, and then possibly to the US Senate
Subcommittee focusing on DCPS. We want to hear from you. Your
confidentiality is guaranteed.
To be the most effective, we need the following information in your
story; your age or age range, your ward if you live in DC, and how you
are related to DCPS (student, parent, staff). At this time we are only
interested in first person accounts. You can write your account as a
word document and attach it to an E-mail, or simply E-mail us directly.
We would like to have as many stories by July 31 as possible; we will
continue accepting stories after July 31. Please E-mail all stories to dcstories@gmail.com
and send the word to others who might have something to say. You will
receive a reply E-mail that will ask to confirm some of your information
so that we may maintain validity as much as possible.
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Councilmember Driving Skills
Elizabeth Howard, miriam4oes@yahoo.com
On July 22, while driving home from work, I found that I was behind
Councilmember Jack Evans’ vehicle. We were traveling north on 13th
Street, NW. An interesting side note is that his vehicle has a hand
mirror taped to what was the driver-side mirror of the car; not sure if
that will past DC vehicle inspection. But I digress. What was the most
interesting part of the drive is as we crossed L Street he changed to
the left inside lane, and at the corner of 13th and Massachusetts
Avenue, NW, he made an illegal left turn! As many drivers know, but some
fail to see, is the rather large neon sign on the northwest pole which
is the universal signage for no left turn (at least until after 6:30
p.m., per the signage). Maybe someone can enlighten me as to when
councilmembers got a free pass on not following traffic regulations? It
just seems a little suspect that, with distinctive councilmember tags,
that someone who has sworn to uphold the laws of the city would
flagrantly violate them and think no one would notice.
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Beware the Yellow Line
Ed T. Barron, edtb1@macdotcom
Ignore this warning and you’ll likely get a $50 parking ticket in
DC. There’s a long yellow stripe painted along the curb in front of
Janney School on Albemarle Street, NW. Park there, like I did along with
lots of other cars, and you’ll get a ticket for parking in a fire
zone. The signs clearly say that this yellow line depicts a bus parking
area when Janney school is in session. Try telling that to the new
parking enforcement personnel. It won’t work. They’ll write the
ticket, and you’ll have to photograph where your car was parked and
the signs as well. Then you’ll have to spend a couple of hours at the
Department of Motor Vehicles on C Street waiting for a hearing.
Alternatively, you can take your chances with a mail-in appeal that will
take, according to the DMV folks, six months to resolve. I took no
chances and made a personal appearance at the DMV today. The hearing
official told me that every other yellow strip in the District means it’s
a fire zone and parking in a fire zone is a $50 ticketable parking
offense. I won’t be taking any chances with the parking enforcement
folks in northwest DC (who might not be able to read the signs
correctly), and will park elsewhere when heading to my volunteer
assignment at the Newseum.
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I was on the parking task force as part of the regulatory reform
effort in 1998. I asked the question about multilevel structures like
those found in Montgomery County. Someone with the Control Board staff
remarked that this would never happen, because the commercial parking
operators give too much money to the reelection of members of the DC
council. Follow the money, and if you are parking downtown for more than
the time on the meter, bite the bullet and park in a paid commercial
structure.
Until DC voters get the ability to amend the Charter by initiative
and pass campaign finance restrictions, kiss any real reform to the
parking rules goodbye.
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Public Parking Versus Public Transit
John Wheeler, wheels-dc@att.net
My response to T. Lassoc [themail, July 22], who says, “DC really
ought to consider multilevel public parking facilities with long-term
metered spaces as is done in Montgomery County,” is that T. Lassoc
really ought to consider public transit.
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CLASSIFIEDS — EVENTS
Department of Parks and Recreation Events, July 28, 31
John Stokes, john.astokes@dc.gov
July 28-August 2, North Carolina A&T State University,
Greensboro, NC. USA Track and Field Junior Olympics National
Championships. The National Junior Olympics Championships are held for
athletes aged 9-18, including all USA Track and Field club members from
around the country. This event is the pinnacle of Summer Track and Field
for youth in USATF, and the top 3 in each region will compete. The event
will be held at Irwin Belk Track on the campus of North Carolina A&T
State University in Greensboro, North Carolina. For more information,
call 671-1700.
July 31, 1:00 p.m.-3:00 p.m., Congress Heights Recreation Center,
Alabama Avenue, SE, and Randle Place, SE. Field Day for all ages. The
youth will participate in various outdoor activities for fun prizes. For
more information, call Tara Bell, Recreation Specialist, at 645-3981.
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CLASSIFIEDS — DAYCARE
Two Daycare Sublet Spaces Available
Josh Gibson, Adams Morgan, joshuadavidgibson@gmail.com
Two pairs of expectant parents have two slots available in an infant
daycare program in northwest Washington, five days a week, for up to for
to five months (one slot runs September 21 to early February, the other
September 21 to March 21), when our two children will move into that
slot. Commitments from three months and up will be considered. Do you
need six months of infant day care from September to February? Need
three months from October to January? Let us know.
This is a great way to ensure gap coverage while you are awaiting a
permanent daycare solution. The day care is a wonderful facility, with a
great, highly-trained staff, a nurturing philosophy, and a
family-centered culture. Staff with advanced degrees in early childhood
education (at least a Bachelor’s, more often a Master’s) anchors
each classroom. This is our very first choice daycare, which is why we
are holding the slot for our own children to start in February/March.
Please contact joshgibson@alumni.ksg.harvard.edu
for pricing and more info.
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