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December 6, 2009

Pryorities

Dear Prioritizers:

On December 1, it was announced that Vincent Schiraldi, the director of the Department of Youth Rehabilitation Services, would be leaving his job at the end of January to head New York City’s probation department. The definitive quote about Schiraldi’s move — a statement that appeared in nearly every newspaper article about the job change — came from Kristopher Baumann, chairman of the police union, who said, “DC is now safer, and New York is a little less safe.”

Baumann was right. Imprisoning criminals has three purposes: punishing them for the bad things they have done, rehabilitating them so that they don’t continue to commit antisocial acts, and isolating them so that at least for the time they are in prison they cannot harm others. Schiraldi doesn’t believe in punishment; he doesn’t accept it as a legitimate purpose of imprisonment, and he doesn’t believe in its power of deterrence to prevent other crimes. On the other hand, he vastly overestimates his ability to rehabilitate young criminals through kindness and rewards. And he failed dramatically at protecting society from his charges, and even at protecting his charges from each other. Washington Post columnist, and former editorial board writer, Colbert King, repeatedly documented the lax and sometimes nonexistent supervision of juvenile offenders by Schiraldi that time after time led to further crimes and even murders. The Post’s current editorial board, which has consistently ignored Schiraldi’s shortcomings and failures and supported him uncritically, finally acknowledged that King’s repeated documentation of those shortcomings and failures has been valid in its editorial praising Schiraldi on the occasion of his leaving: “But there also have been serious missteps — many of them meticulously chronicled over the past two years by Post op-ed columnist Colbert I. King, despite city law that in many cases shields information that should be public. Naive decisions, with tragic consequences, have undermined confidence in the department’s ability to protect the public. There has recently been an alarming increase in juvenile crimes, particularly robberies, with serious overcrowding at the youth detention center,” http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/12/03/AR2009120304087.html.

Schiraldi’s resignation presents the mayor and the city council with an opportunity to rebalance the priorities of the juvenile justice system and to demonstrate their concern for the safety of the public and the community. They are not likely to take that opportunity. Politicians will say that they are concerned with public safety, but they are sure to continue to follow Schiraldi’s priorities, and to gamble with public safety on the high-risk theory that negligence and laxity in supervising juvenile offenders will be rewarded with rehabilitative success. An observation about penitentiaries from well-known philosopher and prominent social scientist Richard Pryor is appropriate here. “I was up there six weeks; Arizona State Penitentiary. It was something. Oh, you applauded that? Arizona State Penitentiary, real popular? . . . I just looked at all the brothers and it made my heart ache. You know, I saw all those beautiful black brothers in the joint. Goddamn, warriors should be out there helping the masses. And I felt that way. I was real naive, right? And six weeks I was up there. I talked to the brothers, and I talked to them, and —. Thank God we got penitentiaries!”

Gary Imhoff
themail@dcwatch.com

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Traffic Light Patterns at a Closed School
Stew Reuter, rtlreuter@aol.com

I’ve been driving Reno Road frequently in the last three weeks. I must assume that the John Eaton School on Reno Road is closed for some serious repairs, as the lights are never on, no children can be seen, and an industrial-level operation is evident in its yard/playground. However, the blinking orange lights to enforce a 15 mph limit are still operating. They’ve even been on at night. The local traffic lights are set for twenty-second greens for Reno, with longer periods for the cross streets. About three to four cars can get through at each light.

For the last two days, there has been a School Crossing guard on station on Reno Road. Are we taxpayers paying for a Guard at a closed school? The Chevy Chase listserv has had entries about missing Crossing Guards at another school. Is anyone in charge?

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Bill to Rededicate the DC WW1 Memorial as National
Mark David Richards, mark@markdavidrichards.com

The DC World War Memorial certainly needs work. The federal government, responsible for its upkeep, has largely de-prioritized it as a Mall asset for several decades — not even recognizing it on maps or on signage until recently (and still it is spotty and appears begrudged because it is “only local”). The fact that the Memorial is getting more attention now is terrific.

Yet it seems to me that any effort or Congressional bill affecting the Memorial should clearly preserve the local history of the Memorial and not just “re-purpose” it because it is conveniently located on the Mall and able to fill a perceived gap in the national Memorial portfolio. The main story of this Memorial is about honoring District men and women who valiantly served in the US armed forces in WW1 — and since the beginning of the nation. All of these citizens have returned to their home voteless and unequal, for over two hundred years. The effort to gain equal Congressional voting rights was underway over the same period as the fundraising and construction of the DC War Memorial — both efforts led in part by the same DC family — cannot be seen in isolation from one another. This Memorial is associated with an ongoing local effort to win equal rights for the citizens of the District of Columbia, who fulfill all the duties of citizenship. It is a jewel of a Memorial, not boastful or arrogant, but peaceful in nature — a resting place for the District’s sacrifices to the nation.

The Memorial’s long-term preservation is very important. But there is no need to sweep local history under the rug in the effort, even if unintentionally, to accomplish good. The truth of the Memorial, its clear expression of civic life in the District of Columbia and the pride of our people as part of the nation, must be kept intact for future generations — not subsumed by a larger national purpose that sidelines local living history. Preservation of the Memorial must be accompanied by a full reading of the local sociopolitical and historical context. I heard one person talk about the Memorial as “only” dedicated to the citizens who gave their lives from the District of Columbia (see UTube: http://www.dcpreservation.org/WWI.html). Only? Maybe I am overly sensitive. Can the Memorial be shared? Sure — but don’t trivialize the citizens of the District who built the Memorial in honor of their losses.

Here is information I compiled about the Memorial: http://www.dcwatch.com/richards/020526.htm. I worked to put the Memorial on the DC Preservation League’s list of Most Endangered Places in 2003 and drafted the following: http://www.dcpreservation.org/endangered/2003/warmemorial.html. Here is a USA Today article: http://www.usatoday.com/news/washington/2009-12-02-WWI-veterans-memorial_N.htm; and an article about the movement to nationalize the DC Memorial, “Sphere — Last Doughboy Seeks WWI Memorial on Mall,” http://www.sphere.com/2009/12/03/last-doughboy-seeks-wwi-memorial-on-mall/

I gave a file with documents related to the Memorial to the DC Historical Society library, if anyone is interested in an assembly of articles and things. This file includes an op-ed that Tom Sherwood and I co-authored in The Washington Post, among other things.

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Are You Ready for Rhee to Crash and Burn?
Candi Peterson, saveourcounselors@gmail.com

From the looks of the online comments on the Washington Post web site, it seems like Rhee has lost favor with many of her former supporters. I remember when Rhee first came to DC to reign as Chancellor of our public schools over two years ago. At that time, Rhee’s support base consisted of many willing to give her the benefit of the doubt despite her obvious lack of credentials and experience in public education. Fast forward to 2009 and take a look at the latest newsworthy event about Rhee’s dethroning of another favored DC principal, Patrick Pope, who has been principal at Hardy Middle School for over a decade. The official announcement by Rhee to remove Pope came last Friday, December 4. Despite this announcement, Rhee claims that Pope will be allowed to retain his current post until the school year ends in June 2010. Pope has been offered a promise of developing a new arts school by Rhee even during a budget deficit while a less experienced principal, Dana Nerenberg of Hyde-Addison, will be his successor.

Today, WaPo writer Bill Turque wrote a story in the Metro section titled: “Replacing Principal at Hardy Is Decried,” http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/12/05/AR2009120501580.html. I am so glad that the WaPo editors got around to featuring a story on this very hot topic. For a minute there, I thought that the story would remain buried on the DCWire blog. I know it’s hard for the Post’s editors to print any news that isn’t favorable to Rhee. What a sigh of relief for those of us who want to follow the news.

What’s of interest are the too-many-for-me-to-count negative comments from WaPo on-line readers about the Hardy middle school story. This litany of remarks brings to mind images of Rhee’s slow but certain crash and burn. When will it come? I think if Rhee continues down this slippery slope, she just might not make it to June. Wishful thinking or reality? So it seems the general public has had it up to here with Rhee and quite a few maintain that Fenty has lost their vote as well. Are you ready for Rhee to crash and burn? I know I am.

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Washington Post Shutters Last US Bureaus
Phil Shapiro, pshapiro@his.com

For those who might not have seen this news, the Washington Post has closed its New York, Chicago, and Los Angeles bureaus (see http://tinyurl.com/ygmd8t3). To my mind, this newspaper tried to be a national newspaper to the detriment of serving its hometown community. When you focus your business on serving a real purpose, rather than an aspiration, you increase your chances for sustainability.

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Bigotry in Church
Michael Bindner, mikeybdc@yahoo.com

The Church is more than just the Archbishop and his Curia. It includes quite a few priests (who are gay) and parishioners who favor marriage equality. Many of us have gay siblings, children, or parents whom we would like to see have marriage rights. What scares the Hierarchy is that we will demand religious marriages for them.

The Church is being slightly disingenuous here. They find civil marriage immoral too; however, they do not deny benefits to spouses from such unions on religious grounds. The principle is exactly the same, so their different perception on this has nothing to do with a stand for morals and everything to do with bigotry. Sometimes the function of law is to point out to people that their positions are not acceptable in polite society. This is one of those times.

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CLASSIFIEDS — EVENTS

Dupont Circle December Meeting Featuring Police Chief Cathy Lanier, December 7
Robin Diener, president@dupont-circle.org

The Dupont Circle Citizens Associations will meet on Monday, December 7, at 7:30 p.m., at Anderson House, 2118 Massachusetts Avenue, NW. The featured guest speaker: will be Police Chief Kathy Lanier, and there will be a briefing by Ward 2 Council Member Jack Evans. Please send your questions for the Chief or Councilmember Evans to Robin Diener at president@dupont-circle.org.

Cathy Lanier is DC’s first female police chief. Chief Lanier believes, “to be able to lead other officers takes credibility and trust.” Those are qualities that she has built up in nineteen years on the force. Chief Lanier has spent her entire law enforcement career with the Metropolitan Police Department, beginning in 1990. Most of her career has been in uniformed patrol, where she served as Commander of the Fourth District, one of the largest and most diverse residential patrol districts in the city. She also served as the Commanding Officer of the Department’s Major Narcotics Branch and Vehicular Homicide Units. Chief Lanier is a graduate of the FBI National Academy and the federal Drug Enforcement Administration’s Drug Unit Commanders Academy. She holds Bachelor’s and Master’s Degrees in Management from Johns Hopkins University, and a Master’s Degree in National Security Studies from the Naval Postgraduate School in Monterey, California. She is certified at the technician level in Hazardous Materials Operations.

Lanier describes her crime-fighting philosophy as proactive. “We can no longer wait for crime to come to us but need to look at the history and the trends and project from there.” Some of Lanier’s tactics have drawn fire (i.e., curfews, search-and-seize methods, a controversial five days of checkpoints in the Trinidad neighborhood of DC after a series of shootings, etc.). In her two and a half years as Chief, there has been a decrease in major crime incidents and in 2008 had the highest closure rate on homicide cases, the highest on department record.

Our thanks to the Society of the Cincinnati for welcoming DCCA to Anderson House. Docents will guide a tour of the magnificent Beaux Art building after the program. Finally, help us build our organization. Consider inviting a Dupont Circle neighbor who is not yet a member of DCCA to come with you. Meetings are free. After such a great program, your neighbor will surely want to join DCCA!

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Environmental Health Group (EHG) Events, December 8
Allen Hengst, ahengst@rcn.com

World War I munitions, bottles filled with chemical warfare agents and contaminated soil have been found in and around the Spring Valley neighborhood of northwest DC. The Environmental Health Group (EHG) seeks to raise awareness of the issues and encourage a thorough investigation and cleanup. Every Saturday at 1:00 p.m., please join the Environmental Health Group for an informal discussion about Spring Valley issues in the cafe at the Tenleytown Whole Foods Market, 4530 40th Street, NW (one block north of Tenley Circle). For more information, visit the EHG on Facebook at: http://www.facebook.com/pages/Washington-DC/Environmental-Health-Group/67807900019.

The US Army Corps of Engineers has released a 41-page report on cleanup options for destroying the chemical weapons stored on federal land behind Sibley Hospital. Subject matter experts will be on hand to answer questions about the draft report at an Open House on Tuesday, December 8, from 6:00-8:00 p.m., at the Metropolitan Memorial United Methodist Church meeting room, 3401 Nebraska Avenue, NW (one block west of Ward Circle). The public has thirty days (until December 30) to comment on the report at http://www.nab.usace.army.mil/projects/WashingtonDC/springvalley.htm.

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Ward 4 Democrats Annual Meeting and Holiday Luncheon, December 12
Deborah Royster, deborah.royster@comcast.net

The annual meeting and holiday luncheon of the Ward 4 Democrats will be held on Saturday, December 12, from 12:00 p.m. to 2:00 p.m. at the Saint George Ballroom and Banquet Center, 4335 16th Street, NW. Kim Keenan, Esq., president of the DC Bar, will be our guest speaker for this special event, and her remarks will focus on the importance of leadership in addressing community issues. This festive event is one of the major fundraising activities of the Ward 4 Democrats, and the proceeds will be used to support our outreach activities, which will continue to be very important as we approach upcoming elections in the District of Columbia in 2010. Tickets for this event are $25.00 per person and can be purchased from Mrs. Joan Thomas (291-7561). Please plan to join us for this special afternoon of Democratic fun and fellowship as we celebrate the holiday season.

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