Snowbound
Dear Snowbounders:
I’ve written several times about how much I dislike cold weather. I’ve
wondered why everyone north of 38º53’ latitude doesn’t just move to
islands in the South Pacific. (That’s the latitude of Washington, DC,
and Washington makes my cut only because winter is usually relatively
mild here.) And I’ve complained several times over the years about the
city’s inability to dig itself out from snowfalls. You would think,
then, that our December record snowfall over the past two days would
make me very unhappy. You’d be wrong.
Small snowfalls make me unhappy; they’re just messy and a pain to
deal with. But large, crippling snowfalls, the kind that closes the city
down and keeps everyone inside their houses, so that people don’t even
try to move around, are a great occasion. They’re a time for hot
chocolate for adults, for breakfast food at dinner. They’re a time for
staying in bed all day, lazing about, watching DVD’s and taped
television shows, reading books you’ve always meant to get around to
until you doze off for a long afternoon’s nap. (“So,” Dorothy
asks, “how does that differ from your usual day?”)
My appreciation for massive snowstorms dates back a few decades.
Dorothy and I met at the end of 1978. A mutual friend with whom I was
sharing a rental house introduced us because he was moving to California
and Dorothy was looking for a new place to live. Dorothy decided against
sharing the house with me because she didn’t think her parents would
approve of her living with a man, so I asked her for a date instead. We
had one date that December, but then Dorothy took a Christmas break of a
few weeks in New York with her family. We dated again once in January,
and in mid-February Dorothy invited me to her new apartment for dinner.
I remember the date — it was the evening of February 19, 1979. For
those of you who don’t remember, who weren’t born then, or who didn’t
listen to the weather reports over the past two days, that was the date
of the great President’s Day snowstorm of 1979. That snowstorm put the
one we just had to shame. More inches, more chaos. Only a small part of
the subway had been built, and the buses didn’t run for days. Even
though Marion Barry had been mayor for only a month, he had already
identified his snow removal strategy: the arrival of spring. So on our
third date, we were trapped together for five days in Dorothy’s
one-bedroom apartment. A five-day-long third date in a small apartment
is either a very bad or a very good thing; either way, it is a real test
of a new relationship. In our case, we passed. I have a lot to thank
Washington snowstorms for.
Gary Imhoff
themail@dcwatch.com
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The National Park Service has issued the Draft National Mall Plan and
Environmental Impact Statement for a ninety-day public comment period.
The National Mall belongs to all of us — it symbolizes our nation and
its values to the world. The draft plan addresses critical issues facing
some of the most important and historic civic spaces in our nation and
proposes ways to improve the health and beauty of the National Mall, its
ability to welcome citizens and guests, and its ability to host national
celebrations and demonstrations. Please note there will be no changes in
the way the First Amendment demonstrations are permitted — hosting
them is and always will be an essential purpose of the National Mall.
The draft plan is a fairly lengthy document (six hundred pages)
because it analyzes and compares five alternatives. There is a companion
photo album on the CD, and the planning web site at http://www.nps.gov/nationalmallplan
serves as a reminder about locations and existing conditions. The draft
plan begins with a guide and short summary. It will be especially
important to consider the preferred alternative, which has been refined
and modified as a result of public, agency, consulting party, and
professional comments since it was presented in our spring 2009
newsletter 4. In addition, we have provided several one-page fact sheets
for preferred alternative actions related to topics of interest. Fact
sheet topics can be found at http://www.nps.gov/nationalmallplan/History.html
on major action visions, sustainability, resource improvement, the civic
stage (hosting national celebrations and First Amendment demonstrations,
and visitor experience,
The draft plan can be reviewed at http://www.nps.gov/nationalmallplan,
and there you will find a link to the comment site. Commenting online is
the most efficient and cost-effective method of participating. If you
represent an organization please provide that information.
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Update: The People’s Counsel
Dorothy Brizill, dorothy@dcwatch.com
On December 1, the city council adopted emergency legislation, Bill
18-531, “People’s Counsel Holdover Extension Emergency Amendment Act
of 2009.” Under the legislation, betty Noel, the People’s Counsel,
“shall serve in a holdover capacity after the expiration of her term
for not more than 270 days, or until a successor takes office, whichever
is earlier.” Following passage, the bill was transmitted to Mayor
Fenty on December 2 for his signature. However, rather than sign the
bill, on December 10 Fenty signed an executive order, Mayor’s Order
2009-214, that states that “Elizabeth A. Noel is appointed as the
Interim People’s Counsel, and shall serve in that capacity at the
pleasure of the Mayor for a term to expire no later than March 10, 2010.”
Then, within twenty-four hours, on December 11, Fenty also signed the
council’s emergency bill.
The discrepancies between the Mayor’s Order and the council bill
— the use of the word “interim,” stating that Noel now “serves
at the pleasure of the Mayor,” and extending her term only through
March 10, 2010, has raised concerns and suspicion among civic leaders
and members of the Consumer Utility Board.
On Saturday, January 23, 2010, the council Committee on Public
Services and Consumer Affairs will hold a public hearing on “utility
reliability in the District of Columbia.” The original hearing notice
has been amended. In a newly released notice, “The purpose of the
roundtable is to allow District residents to discuss their concerns
regarding the (1) reliability, (2) rates, and (3) customer services of
the utilities and to review the performance of the Public Service
commission and the Office of the People’s Counsel in ensuring adequate
quality of service. The Committee will also receive comments on the
pending nominee for the People’s Counsel during this roundtable. . . .“
Councilmember Muriel Bowser, Chair of the Committee, will allow
citizens to testify who were not able to attend the November 20
confirmation hearing for Vicky Beasley.
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A Possible Solution for Multimeter Receipts
for Motorcycles
Erik Gaull, esq25@columbia.edu
Keep some Scotch tape in your pocket or in a saddlebag. Tape the
receipt to your motorcycle (preferably near the VIN or the registration
sticker). Take a picture of the receipt with your mobile phone. If you
get a ticket, print out a copy of the photo showing the receipt and do a
mail-in denial of the violation, including your photo. It’s more work,
and you may get some tickets, but I think that the administrative law
judges will dismiss any tickets you get for failure to display a
multimeter receipt. Just be sure you can read the printing on the
receipt in the photo.
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On December 15, the DC city council voted and passed a bill allowing
the legalization of same-sex marriage in the District of Columbia. This
is a very bad bill for the faith community and the 320,307 African
Americans living in DC. As a Christian, it is obvious to me that this
bill is bad because it is in direct contradiction with my Christian
faith, which recognizes homosexuality as an abomination.
Now let’s move on to the economic impact that this bill will have
on this region. Proponents of same-sex marriage are touting how much
money this bill will bring to the region. No doubt the real estate and
building industries are poised for a huge pay day. But what about
low-income and working-class African Americans who have grown up in this
city and are struggling to eke out a living the best way they can amidst
20 percent underemployment and unemployment. They will be the big
losers. Once this bill is passed homosexuals from all over the country
and world will flock to DC like pigeons on a piece of bread. They will
overwhelm the city, buying up expensive condominiums and accelerating
gentrification. The council will continue to enact laws to allow real
estate companies to increase rents and convert rental property to
condominiums. Low income and working class people will not be able to
afford to live in these properties and will have to leave the city,
amounting to a mass exodus. What this bill economically amounts to is a
legalized land grab, something the establishment has been trying to
accomplish for years but have been unable to do until now. Just look at
what has happened in Chinatown — the Asian community in DC has been
decimated.
What can we do? On December 7, I filed a complaint in DC US District
Court against the mayor and the council to try and stay the final vote
of the same-sex marriage bill. Although the judge did not grant the
order, she will hear the case before the congressional review period is
over. This is an opportunity to actually get the judge to allow for a
referendum or initiative, which the city has tried to block. I need
everyone who has a dog in this fight to pull together. I believe as a
Christian, a native Washingtonian, and a small business owner, that we
can fight this battle and win. But I need more troops. We must have a
call to action. I am moving by Tuesday to file for a referendum and an
initiative and would like to talk with anyone who would like to join me.
If you want to review the court case, please E-mail me at thetaxladyllc@yahoo.com.
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The District: Consistent Human Rights Leader
Malcolm Wiseman, Petworth, mal@wiseman.ws
Congratulations to all activists and supporters of same-sex misery, I
mean marriage, in DC! Salutes to District council and Mayor Fenty! So
many Washington residents have been historically oppressed that one can
understand any empathy if not widespread joy for this human rights
victory.
It is a monumental political expression of our state-in-exile. Once
again, Little Washington is among the leading but recognized states in
making progressive law.
Par-TAY in March at Freedom Plaza!
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