Turpitude
Dear Moralists:
William Haskett and James Treworgy make two good arguments below
about why it is a bad thing that DC has turned into a speed trap city.
Let me make a try, too. There are two major types of crimes. Some acts
are bad in themselves, and when we make these crimes illegal we want to
catch and punish every person who commits them. Murder and robbery are
bad, and we don’t want “moderation” in solving those crimes. But
other acts aren’t bad in themselves, though they may be illegal.
Driving at 35 miles per hour isn’t a bad thing. It could be illegal to
drive at 35, if the speed limit is 25 miles per hour, but there is no
moral turpitude involved in driving at 35 mph. Speed limits are
practical matters; if they are set reasonably in order to ensure public
safety, they are socially useful. But even then, we want speed limits to
be enforced only as much as necessary in order keep traffic in general
traveling at a safe speed. We don’t want over-enforcement both because
we know that speed limits are to a large extent arbitrary and because
there is no moral failing involved.
Towns that set their speed limits too low for actual driving
conditions, and then enforce those speed limits strictly without regard
for how enforcement has an actual impact on safety, earn our
disapproval. The same goes for towns that install red light cameras at
places where the red lights may be unexpected or are difficult to see
until the last minute, or that install red light cameras and then
shorten the time for yellow lights. An even clearer example of laws that
create crimes that have no moral component is parking laws. A town that
makes its parking regulations and parking signs and notices confusing
and difficult to obey, and then blanketly issues parking tickets, isn’t
just enforcing the law; it is simply manipulating laws with the purpose
of issuing tickets.
In the past, these problems have usually been associated with small
towns that use traffic laws as a desperate money-raising opportunity,
and these towns have been scorned as backwaters to be avoided. Now, some
big-city mayors and councils have decided that they, too, can use
traffic laws as revenue raisers, that there is no shame in turning their
cities into speed traps, or red-light traps, or parking traps.
Washington is one of those big cities. Keep it up, and we’ll be like
those small towns in the ’50’s and ’60’s that were on the “to
be avoided list”: if you’re going north or south on the east coast,
and passing by Washington, stay on the beltway and keep out of downtown.
Gary Imhoff
themail@dcwatch.com
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In Memoriam
Elizabeth McIntire, elizabeth at innercity dot org
Despite the “Public Realm” improvements to Park Road, as of
Wednesday, September 9, it was a poorer place. When I reached the Urban
Forestry Administration Thursday morning, stating I was inquiring about
a permit, the person responded: “Do you want to take a tree down?”
From their web site: “Trees add beauty and improve personal health.
Trees are major capital assets in America’s cities and towns. . . .
Trees — and, collectively, the urban forest — are important assets
that require care and maintenance. Trees are on the job 24 hours every
day working for all of us to improve our environment and quality of
life. Without trees, the city is a sterile landscape of concrete, brick,
steel and asphalt. Picture your town without trees. Would it be a place
where you would like to live? Trees make communities livable for people.
Trees add beauty and create an environment beneficial to our mental
health. . . . Trees impact deeply on our moods and emotions, providing
psychological benefits impossible to measure. A healthy forest growing
in places where people live and work is an essential element of the
health of the people themselves.”
Well, it turned out there was a permit issued, and the property owner
removed the tree which qualified as “special” for having a
circumference of at least 55 inches — in this case, over one hundred
inches. It was at least seventy feet tall and probably sixty feet
across. It was, as certified by the required arborist’s inspection,
sound and healthy. Nevertheless, the permit was granted. There is hardly
any bit left but sawdust at 1511 Park Road.
I am dismayed that some way was not found to preserve this graceful
green presence during construction. Park Road is now a “sterile
landscape of brick, concrete and asphalt.” There have never been any
street trees in this block, only this majestic, healthy, splendid
American Elm.
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Illegal Parking of Storage Unit
Annie McCormick, mamccredz@msn.com
This is astounding, and I have lived here for most of my life. A huge
storage and moving (SAM) unit was placed in front of a residential
building in a “yellow” zone, a loading zone in front of a
residential apartment building, fewer than twenty feet from a fire
hydrant on a one-way street. I called 311, since it was not an
emergency. I spent fourteen minutes on the phone, talked to someone,
lost the call, called again, talked again, lost the call again, and then
called again. I finally talked to someone who said it was not their
problem. I called again, asked again, and talked to over four people —
because they “lost the call” or, I suspect, hung up on me. I finally
reached someone who was almost willing to talk to me; he said it was not
their problem and to call the permit office, and then he gave me the
wrong number!
Much, much exhaustive and infuriating research was required to find
out why that the SAM unit was parked illegally. They will place them
down even in an illegal yellow non-parking and loading zone right in
front of a residential building, fewer than twenty feet from a fire
hydrant and directly in front of a residential apartment building less
than ten blocks from the White House. A car that is parked there gets a
parking ticket, yet that storage unit did not get ticketed. I saw a
parking enforcement official immediately ticket a car that was there at
4:00 p.m. on a Saturday afternoon two weeks ago. Perhaps parking
enforcement will not check to see if that unit has a permit since it is
not a vehicle?
Calling SAM Portable Moving and Storage Containers at 1-800-438-2726,
I found that their system will “only recognize a verbal response.” I
called over fifteen times and talked to four different people, and I
only garnered a “we only have ten people here.” Asking for legal and
marketing got me nothing. I finally got a call back from a “Barbara,”
who I suspect was one of the “ten,” who said that it would be
removed “tomorrow” (which was Tuesday). It was not removed until
Wednesday. I requested a sample contract so that I could review it to
see if they advised their clients of the responsibility to get a permit.
I was told that the person “had the permission of the management” to
put a huge storage unit in front of the building.
Finally, I called the DC Department of Public Space permit office at
442-4670; there was no permit issued for the storage unit. They were
very helpful. I was assured by the DOT by a vigilant and dedicated
employee that the management of the building would be fined. I hope I
can trust them to do that. The unit was finally removed; by whom I do
not know. If a storage unit is placed somewhere and it is an issue, look
into it. If you contract to put a storage unit somewhere, make sure it
is legal and you get a necessary permit. I did over four hours of
exhaustive research to find out that it was, indeed, illegal to park
that “SAM” storage unit outside the building without a permit.
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Online Service Request Center Upgrade
Unannounced
Qawi Robinson, qrobinso@lycos.com
For the past three weeks the dc.gov arm of 311 has been upgraded.
Most haven’t noticed or seemed to care, that is, unless you requested
City Services online. While the current administration is steering folks
to online solutions, the online solutions have some hiccups that need to
be rectified or at least stated when someone tries to use them. In all
the PR blitz that is dc.gov — or Adrian Fenty, for that matter — one
would think that the public would be routinely aware if online city
services were being upgraded or had issues. Case in point: I recently
requested a Bulk Trash Pickup (something I’ve grown accustomed to
doing now for several years). I noticed that the look and feel of the
web site had changed, but my expectation was that the functionality didn’t.
I was wrong.
The previous version allowed citizens and guests to modify several
fields, including date, type of debris, items, and others after a
request was made. The latest version does not allow any modification of
requests. In fact, when I called 311 to modify the request, the call
taker told me that it could not be done with the new system. It was
recommended that I call on Monday and make a new request. Adding more
insult, apparently the new and old system are both accessible. When
logging into dc.gov and checking the status of requests, I get my old
requests, but none of the new ones. I’m not here to gripe, but I’m
wondering if anyone else got any notification that the system was being
upgraded. I’m not asking for mass firings, but something as simple as
putting a disclaimer on the web page or a basic “pardon our dust”
would’ve helped immensely.
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DCPS Building Representatives and LSRT Members
Erich Martel, ehmartel at starpower dot net
On Monday, September 21, principals will meet with instructional
superintendents to get their revised budgets. There should already be
LSRT meetings scheduled to review the budget and make recommendations
(advice) to the principal. LSRT members cannot give good advice if you
do not have complete current and projected budget, staffing, and hiring
information. Therefore Building Representatives and LSRT Members should
request this information from the principal. Failure to provide accurate
information may be grounds for challenging a principal’s decision (the
principal is not required to accept the advice of the LSRT, but is
required to receive it). Important Point: “the LSRT” is the LSRT
meeting in quorum (a majority of members, including the following three:
principal or designee, building representative or designee, and one
parent). LSRT members should not allow a small, non-quorum group or a
non-LSRT group (such as the PTSA) to stand in for the LSRT. If this
happens, you should inform the Washington Teachers Union, gparker@wtulocal6.org,
or your field representative and Deputy Chancellor Kaya Henderson, kaya.henderson@dc.gov.
Recommendations to Building Representatives and LSRT members: 1)
request by E-mail that your principal and LSRT chair tell you when the
LSRT meeting to discuss the RIF budget change will take place. 2) If no
LSRT meeting is scheduled, make a formal request by E-mail to your
principal and LSRT chair requesting that an LSRT meeting be convened to
review the revised budget for your school. 3) Request by E-mail that the
principal provide you and all LSRT members with the following: a) the
complete current budget document for your school, including the
complete, official staffing list showing names of all staff by pay plan
and pay grade and certification; b) all documents and directives that
the principal received from the instructional superintendent explaining
how to implement the RIF. c) The current master schedule showing
teachers, assigned classes, numbers of students in the classes. The
document to request is called the “Enrollment Summary by Section
(Course)” DCSTARS report # “SCH570R” At the high school level,
this document sequences the master schedule by course code, starting
with A05 (Art and Design Foundations). The important information that
the master schedule shows is: Course Title, Section number, Teacher(s)
Name(s), Day (if scheduled every other day), Period, Enrollment Cap,
Seats Used (Actual enrollment), number of Special Education students in
each section. d) The list of all new hires since May 1, 2009, date of
hiring and certification.
4) The building representative and all LSRT members should be aware
of the following: the definition of consensus in the LSRT Guidebook: “Consensus:
Implies general accord. This does not imply a certain level or degree of
enthusiasm, but that parties can accept the results and agree to live
with the decision.” Hopefully, all members can reach a viable
consensus that puts students’ classroom learning needs first. If that
is not the case, you should clearly state, “I cannot accept the
results,” or “As the representative of my school’s teachers [or]
parents, I do not agree to live with the proposed decision.” Make sure
that the lack of consensus is recorded. Be sure to report your LSRT’s
decision to the deputy chancellor and to the Washington Teachers’
Union.
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Right-Sizing the Education Empire
Paul Michael Brown, pmb@his.com
After years of reading about the sclerotic and feckless bureaucrats
at the DCPS central office I was pleased to learn Chancellor Rhee is
finally dismissing some of their number. Here’s hoping those left
behind will get the message and get to work. I was also heartened to
read Ms. Peterson’s report that the chancellor has dismissed “hundreds
of teachers” in the past twenty-four months. Enrollment has been
falling for many years, and even Ms. Peterson concedes the current
enrollment number is inflated. It’s nice to see the chancellor and her
staff are working toward equalization of the school system’s resources
with the ever-shrinking enrollment.
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WASA and FEMS
William M. Walker, DC WASA, Chairman of the Board
through Michele Quander-Collins, michele.quander-collins@dcwasa.com
I read your posting in themail entitled “Proposed Zoning Changes
and the City’s Aging Infrastructure” [September 16]. There is plenty
in your article that I could take issue with, but I will not at this
juncture. However, I will take issue with one statement that anyone who
attended (and listened) to the hearing and read the submitted testimony
would clearly determine as erroneous. “It was an opportunity — a
missed opportunity —for WASA and the Fire Department to stop pointing
fingers at each other and begin pointing to the necessity for the DMPED
and OP to furnish a strategy to improve the city’s aging and
inadequate infrastructure before placing additional strains on a failing
system.” The documentation and testimony made at yesterday’s hearing
reflect anything but DC WASA and FEMS “pointing fingers.” There was
a very clear and detailed presentation made by DC WASA on the aging
infrastructure and how the water system works. Your readers deserve more
accurate reporting of what took place in yesterday’s hearing and how
DC WASA and FEMS are working collaboratively to ensure the safety of the
District’s residents.
[I watched the September 16 city council hearing on the problems with
fighting the fire and water pressure at Peggy Cooper Cafritz’s house,
and the clear impression that I got was that Fire Department and Water
and Sewer were not working together well. After the large fires in 2007,
DC WASA was supposed to get maps identifying operative and inoperative
fire hydrants, and identifying how much water pressure they had, to the
Fire Department. A series of mishaps and miscommunications over the past
two years meant that the Fire Department didn’t have maps they could
use until after the Cafritz fire (and the Fire Department still keeps
the hydrant maps in its offices, not on fire trucks). DC FEMS and WASA
still have no plan to deal with water supply fire hazards in more than
thirty-five locations with low water supply that were identified in
2007. There are more than eighty eight-inch water mains in DC that are
more than one hundred years old. Neither DC FEMS nor WASA has a list of
“private” water hydrants, those that were not installed by the city,
and neither agency assumes responsibility for maintaining private
hydrants. I certainly was not reassured. — Gary Imhoff]
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I wrote this E-mail (one of several) to the Department of Motor
Vehicles Adjudication Services in March of this year, thinking it might
evoke a thoughtful answer; it did not. “Attached you will find the
complete copy of the ticket #FO 14902830/citation # 01490283. I wish to
request its dismissal on the following grounds: although the pretense of
the District’s regulation is that this (and most others as well) is
grounded in public safety, there is no such showing in the ticket
itself, or in the photograph which it contains. Self-evidently, the
light is good, the road is straight at that spot, and there is no other
vehicle in sight to raise alarms or safety concerns. There is no
allegation that I was driving erratically or in any manner at all that
would touch safety matters. I believe that I know precisely where the
photograph was taken, and MacArthur Boulevard in the 4700 block is quite
straight. To the right of the picture is the reservoir, without any
entrance gate to the road, and the houses on the left are single-family
occupied, not at all likely at 1.30 in the early afternoon to create a
traffic hazard for someone driving on the other side of the road.
“In fact, this is the very type of irresponsible enforcement policy
that brings the law itself into disrespect. Safety is alleged but not
shown: the posted and the permitted speed are separated by ten miles per
hour, and my ‘permitted’ speed is one mile per hour over that given
me by a claim of police or City ‘discretion’ and is probably quite
unknown to any but local drivers. If the law were clear, and I had
broken it, I would be the first to acknowledge it. The process of ‘hearing’
is not, in fact, a legal process at all, otherwise I might have used it;
the only evidence admitted is an acknowledgment of a photograph of the
car, and the appeal from it is to a Board of Appeals (personnel and
rules of procedure unknown) at which those ‘accused’ are not
permitted to appear.
“The system is essentially and not accidentally discriminatory, as
the acknowledged and claimed distribution of tickets between District
residents (who receive many fewer) and commuters using MacArthur
Boulevard in their journey to and from work (who receive the great bulk
of the tickets given there — as I learn from the police reports given
regularly at the monthly meetings of the Palisades Citizens
Association.) Finally, it is reasonably obvious that almost the whole
administration of this segment of traffic law is driven not by safety
considerations, but by fiscal interests of the city itself. This is
intolerable. It distorts the justification for government, while holding
the fig-leaf of a concern for public safety before the interest in a
money-return to the public treasury.”
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Philip Wirtz argues [themail, September 16] that zealous enforcement
of laws such as speeding and red-light running is just fine because it’s
against the law, and more power to DC if we make money doing it.
Let’s look at this another way. Imagine a futuristic world where DC
had the power to monitor your speed every single second, and every time
you exceeded the speed limit you would be penalized financially. You go
over 25 miles per hour and a red light goes off in your car advising you
that you have just gotten a $25 ticket.
Would this be a problem to you? If so, why? Because your argument
works perfectly to defend this situation as well, and indeed an absolute
police state. “If you’re not doing anything wrong, then why would
you care?”
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CLASSIFIEDS — EVENTS
Honoring Delores Kendrick, September 22
Lisa Alfred, lalfred@wdchumanities.org
The DC Commission on Arts and the Humanities honors DC Poet Laureate
Delores Kendrick on Tuesday, September 22, at the Heritage Center at the
Navy Memorial, 701 Pennsylvania Avenue, NW. Reception at 6:00 p.m.,
ceremony from 7:00-9:00 p.m. Hosted by Carl Cole, with readings by
Ethelbert Miller and A. Van Jordan. Performance by Delores Kendrick and
the Capital City Symphony String Quartet. For reservations call
724-5613. To reserve a space on the shuttle and to RSVP, E-mail dccahevents@gmail.com.
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Take Back DC, September 22
Parisa Nourizi, parisa@empowerdc.org
Save child care! Stand with workers! Demand Accountability! Stop
privatization! Take action. September 22, 8:30 a.m., rally and press
conference; 9:30-12:00 p.m., park the hearing room, 1350 Pennsylvania
Avenue, NW.
Bring children! Show the council what it’s like when you don’t
have child care! Demand the council act to stop Mayor Fenty from causing
further harm to DC residents and workers! Stop the closing of child care
centers; stop the privatization of city services; stop the disposition
of public property. Save jobs, save residents, take back DC! Sponsored
by Take Back DC: a coalition of city workers, residents, labor unions,
and community groups that are taking collective action to demand the
immediate halt to the privatization of public services and sale of
public land, an independent assessment of the impact of recently
privatized departments, uniform wage parity for taxi drivers with other
major metropolitan areas, that the city honor union contracts and
bargain in good faith with city workers. RSVP to Empower DC, 234-9119.
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Save Our Teachers, Our Students, and Our
Schools, September 24
Candi Peterson, saveourcounselors@gmail.com
According to inside sources, DCPS instructional superintendents met
Saturday at a breakfast meeting and got their marching orders from
Chancellor Rhee. They were advised to meet with DC principals on Monday
to inform them that layoffs will start next week for teachers.
Principals will be advised to lay off teachers as early as next week.
Most of the layoffs will impact DC teachers and some school-based
personnel. It is reported that even some principals and vice principals
will also be let go.
Rhee promises to pay DCPS employees one month of their salary in lieu
of a thirty-day notice required when implementing a reduction in force.
RIF’d staff will all be let go prior to September 30. Rhee is anxious
to get teachers and other DC staffers out as quickly as possible.
Rank and file educators will gather outside of the DCPS central
office on Thursday, September 24, starting at 4:00 p.m. to protest
teacher layoffs. We request that other laid off and terminated
government employees, parents, students, city workers, residents,
community activists, local leaders and the media join us in taking a
stand for our teachers, students, and schools. We are baffled that
Chancellor Rhee hired over nine hundred new teachers this summer, and
that only one month into the school year announced that — due to a
budget shortfall — she will make imminent teacher layoffs prior to the
start of the fiscal year. Please join the rank and file this Thursday as
we protest Rhee: The Teacher Terminator.
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Tenant Association Summit, September 26
Deloris Anderson, dropolisci51@verison.net
The District of Columbia Office of the Tenant Advocate will hold the
second annual Tenant/Tenant Association Summit on Saturday, September
26, at the Kellogg Conference Center on the campus of Gallaudet
University. Registration begins at 8:00 a.m. with the program starting
at 9:00 a.m. Lunch will be provided. Free shuttle bus service will
operate all day between Gallaudet University and the Union Station and
Rhode Island Metro Stations. The summit is free of charge. Sessions
include emergency preparedness, renters insurance, legal and legislative
developments, housing code enforcement, art of lobbying, and tenant
association sustainability. You can register online at http://www.regonline.com/builder/site/Default.aspx?eventid=743971
or call 719-6560 to register by telephone. For additional information
contact Office of the Tenant Advocate staff member Delores Anderson at
719-6560.
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Historic Church Tour and Gospel Round-Up,
September 26
Sylvia Brown, ANC7C04, 7c04@anc.dc.gov
On Saturday, September 26, at 12:00 p.m., the Deanwood Heights Main
Streets is hosting “Tour Deanwood’s Places of Worship: Faith and
Foundation” in conjunction with the IDEA Public Charter School’s
Annual Deanwood Day at 1027 45th Street, NE. Deanwood, home of history
and urban nature, holds a wealth of cultural heritage facts unknown even
to residents let alone to residents across the District and visitors.
The architectural and cultural tour of Deanwood’s churches aims to
engage and educate audiences about the heritage of some of the
neighborhood’s churches dotting the residential and commercial
corridors and the importance of preserving the history and buildings as
we welcome a revitalized neighborhood. Several high-profile economic
development projects underway and planned in Deanwood will also be
highlighted along the tour route. More details can be found at http://www.dhmainstreets.org
and by calling 621-2288. The Faith and Foundation tour is made possible
with support from the Humanities Council of Washington, DC.
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