Planning
Dear Planners:
Abby Lane’s message, below, introduces the Committee of 100’s
report on the proposed streetcar system. It’s a well done study, and
it has a lot of good, sensible advice for the city on how to build a
system that isn’t a disaster. If the report can be summarized in one
word, it is “planning.” Plan the system before building it. Right
now, the system still suffers from the major planning mistake of the
Fenty administration, which is to act first, and then think about it
later. The first step in planning is to figure out how the city is going
to pay for the streetcars. Don’t just assume that the federal
government is going to dump all the money in our laps. Don’t just
assume that city businesses and residents who are located on the planned
streetcar lines are going to be eager to pay additional special taxes to
finance building them. Many of the lines go through some of the poorer
areas of the city, since the streetcar system is envisioned as a tool to
develop less developed neighborhoods. As a result, poorer residents and
business that are the least able to afford extra taxes are going to be
forced to pay a good portion of the costs of the streetcar lines that
are supposed to attract the richer residents and better financed
businesses that are going to displace them. The second step is to decide
that, if DC is going to have a streetcar system, it’s going to be a
modern system based on up-to-date equipment, and not on outdated
technology. The third step is to include citizens in the early stages of
planning the routes, especially citizens who live in the neighborhoods
that are affected directly by the streetcar lines, and not simply to
present citizens with finished plans and tell them to take it or leave
it.
When WMATA built the Green Line through Ward One, the engineers who
planned the route and designed the construction said that the route
between the Columbia Heights and Georgia Avenue stops would require
demolishing 120 houses, and assured residents that they were the experts
who knew best and that the plans could not be changed. Residents
revolted, and the experts eventually went back to their drawing boards.
In the end, WMATA adopted a new construction technique for underground
tunneling that had never been used in the United States before, and they
built the line without demolishing any houses. The advocates and
enthusiasts who are pushing the streetcar system now are demanding that
it be built immediately, without taking the time to bring the wider public
into the planning and discussion process, without opening the process to
the kinds of considerations that the Committee of 100 and other
neighborhood residents would raise, without considering modern wireless
technology. They’ll push politicians to dismiss this report without
confronting its arguments, and they’ll attack the Committee of 100 as
they have in the past, with ad hominem sneers — “What could
those old fogies know?” Read it yourself, and see if it can be so
easily dismissed.
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Nearly two years ago, I predicted that the inevitable result of the
city council’s tax on plastic grocery bags would be that stores would
simply sell plastic grocery bags directly to consumers at a reasonable
price. “Opponents of plastic grocery bags complain that few of them
(perhaps 20 percent, more likely fewer) are recycled, but few of them
are recycled because most of them are reused — as wastebasket liners,
as extra wrapping for groceries, as pooper scooper bags, and so on. So
here’s my prediction of what the five-cent tax will accomplish: it
will create a new market for grocery-store-sized plastic bags sold in
bulk, filling the gap between small food storage bags and large trash
bags. Stores will sell a package of a hundred grocery-store-like plastic
bags for one or two dollars. Consumers will buy them for all their home
uses and they will take them to stores when they shop, instead of
carrying inconvenient cloth bags that take up more space yet carry fewer
goods, that have to be laundered and mended,” http://www.dcwatch.com/themail/2009/09-05-20.htm
Now that reusable shopping bags have been revealed both to be drenched
in germs and bacteria, http://tinyurl.com/2azd8af,
and to be manufactured with lead, http://www.usatoday.com/money/industries/environment/2010-11-15-toxicbags15_st_N.htm,
plastic grocery bags are beginning to show up as a consumer item. I saw
them as a new product this weekend at the Costco in Gaithersburg,
selling in the price range I predicted, $13.99 for a thousand. Watch for
them in hundred-bag lots at your local grocery store soon.
Gary Imhoff
themail@dcwatch.com
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The Committee of 100 on the Federal City released a detailed
assessment of the proposed 37-mile streetcar system for Washington, DC,
on Tuesday. The report, “Building a World-Class Streetcar System for a
World-Class City,” analyzes the proposed routes and highlights seven
recommendations to bring streetcars back to DC. In general, the report’s
authors found that the proposed route plan makes sense and should boost
investor confidence in several areas that need new centers of economic
life. However, the assessment also concluded that further study and
refinements are needed along some routes. Click http://www.committeeof100.net/Media/streetcar-report.html
to read the full report.
The report was prepared by the Transportation Subcommittee of the
Committee of 100 on the Federal City with the help of Alec Stewart, a
graduate student at George Washington University. In 2010, Committee
members reviewed the only confirmed part of the plan — the proposed
routes. They drove and photographed the entire 37-mile route to develop
a better understanding of existing conditions and to assess the
likelihood that a streetcar line would stimulate economic development.
Of all the routes in the survey, the H Street/Benning Road corridor was
judged to be the highest priority, “. . . ripe for permanent capital
investment in public transit. However, DC council should take steps to
mitigate the effects of gentrification to protect low-income people from
inflated land values,” the report states. It also notes the unresolved
issues with Amtrak and an adjacent property owner involved with linking
H Street to Union Station. The report calls for rethinking the proposed
routes in Anacostia in close collaboration with the community. DDOT has
now begun a more open community planning process through the
Environmental Assessment of the Anacostia segments.
The report also offers seven recommendations for achieving a
well-planned, world-class street car system, including: 1) show us the
money — develop a streetcar business, financial, and governance plan,
and an equipment and facilities master plan. 2) Strengthen community
character through appropriate economic development — develop a land
use plan to strengthen the neighborhoods streetcars will serve. 3) Move
out of the past — establish a baseline assessment of streetcar
technology worldwide and move rapidly towards a wireless system. 4) Buy
for a wireless future — acquire only new streetcars that can
eventually be converted to wireless technology. 5) Obey the law —
comply with NEPA and all other environmental and preservation laws. 6)
Banish the devil from the details — rethink some routes; develop a
scaled street plan for each phase. 7) Don’t just do it, do it right
— engage the public in substantive and sustained collaboration. Craft
a comprehensive Streetcar Enabling Act to ensure a world-class system
for a world-class city.
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DC United Wants a New Publicly Financed
Stadium
Dino Drudi, drudi.dino@bls.gov
In 2009 there were actually rallies to press the city to fund a new
DC United soccer-specific stadium, http://screaming-eagles.com/2009/05/rally-to-keep-united-in-dc-scheduled-for-may-9/,
but one immovable obstacle stood in their way — Adrian Fenty, who was
immovably opposed to it for the same reason he so resolutely opposed
funding the Nationals’ stadium. Those of yiz who helped overthrow
Fenty need to understand that yiz’ve bought yizselves a soccer
stadium, which Vince Gray, Jack Evans, Kwame Brown, etc., will
fund even if they bleed taxpayers to do so, http://washingtonexaminer.com/sports/2011/01/still-fielding-questions
City Hall wanted the Feds to deed to the city RFK’s land, which it
would then hand over to Jack Kent Cooke, so he could build his football
stadium. Congress was ill-disposed to the giveaway, so Cooke left for a
sweeter giveaway at Wilson Farm in PG County. City hall, believing the
foregoing was a terrible mistake, has since then made whatever
concessions were necessary to keep team owners happy for baseball,
basketball, and hockey, including the grossest sell-out on the planet
(Nationals Stadium) and a “vibrant,” high-crime Gallery Place/Verizon
Center for which it had city bureaucrats to pack up to move out of the
Consumer and Regulatory Affairs Department even before the city had
decided where to move them. Some civic groups forgot the wisdom of their
predecessors and sheepishly, reluctantly, and later with buyer’s
remorse acceded to the stadium deal, while others opposed it too meekly,
leaving to outside advocates the brunt of opposing this sleazy giveaway
(remember those black-and-white yard signs with the pictures of the
stadium stomping out funding for other social needs). The labor unions
were all for it, for which Fenty’s four-year reign of terror exacted
appropriate recompense for their role in the stadium deal.
We’re now a five-sport town, so it will be very hard to say “no”
to soccer’s stadium when DC has said “yes” to three other sports.
City Hall will find a way to make it happen, wishful thinking about the
city budget crunch taking the idea off the table not withstanding.
Recall their $46-million tax abatement to the Adams Morgan hotel.
Remember, also, that NCPC has grand plans for some grand vista extending
out from South Capitol Street, which means RFK’s gotta go! Understand
up front that having helped set the table, whether yiz like what’s on
the menu or not, yiz will have to sit down and eat it. (Modern English
has many major flaws, one of which is the same word for second person
singular and plural; for second person plural, therefore, I use the New
England “yiz” in hopes that over time it will become a formal part
of the language.)
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The High Cost of DC’s Education Bureaucracy
Mai Abdul Rahman, spotlightoneducation@yahoo.com
According to a recent study by the Cato Center, DCPS’s per pupil
expenditures in 2009 was the highest in the area at $28,170, http://www.cato.org/pubs/pas/pa662.pdf;
meanwhile the publicly stated DCPS figures maintain that the per pupil
expenditure is $17,543. What accounts for the considerable difference
between the publicly stated figure and the actual expenditure?
Last August I wrote in themail about the need for the next mayor to
reevaluate the 2007 Public Education Reform Act, which created costly
educational agencies with overlapping responsibilities, objectives, and
goals. These include the Department of Education, State Board of
Education Agency, Interagency Collaboration Services, and Integration
Commission lead by the Deputy Mayor for Education, Office of Public
Education Facilities Modernization, and the Office of the Ombudsman for
Public Education. Each of these agencies is allocated millions of
dollars in annual operating funds, totaling more than one billion
dollars, http://www.dcfpi.org/wp-content/uploads/2009/03/FY11education2.pdf
Funding these agencies contributes significantly to DC’s public
education expenditures. According to Cato’s findings, the discrepancy
between the real per pupil spending figures and the official figures is
61 percent — the largest gap of any district in the area.
The 2008 GAO evaluation of the 2007 Public Education Reform Act
outlined an extensive list of recommendations, including the development
of a comprehensive strategic plan to assess the “the goals of multiple
offices and identify if they are aligned or working at cross purposes,”
http://www.gao.gov/new.items/d08549t.pdf.
So far the GAO recommendations have not been addressed by the DC city
council. Considering DC’s projected mounting revenue losses, estimated
to total $340 million in the next two years, it is necessary to
reevaluate DC’s education bureaucracy. According to the GAO 2008
report, the bureaucracy is too costly, top heavy, and horizontal, and
often has redundant functions and overlapping responsibilities. It is
time for the DC council and mayor to reconsider the role and function of
these agencies and whether they merit the millions expended on them,
that have bloated DCPS’s per-pupil cost — highest in the area and
second highest in the country.
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Is Vince Gray the Second Most Powerful Man in
the District?
Everton Johnson, ej@eastwestfinancial.com
Fun Fact of the Week: This week’s DC Register includes a
number of laws signed by Vince Gray both as chair of the DC council and
as mayor. It’s no joke to say that Gray is the first two most powerful
men in the District — at least in writing.
Acts:
Act 18-679, “Prohibition on Government Employee Engagement in
Political Activity Act of 2010”: Do you work for the city? Do you
participate in electoral politics? Well, from now on you better not be
doing the latter while performing the former. Any political activities
in your official capacity can land you a $2,000 fine or 180 days in
jail, depending on the violation.
Act 18-681, “Private Fire Hydrant Act of 2010”: You want a private
fire hydrant? Okay, but not before the mayor gets in writing that your
hydrant is your hydrant, and it’s not up to the city to make sure it
works.
Act 18-694, “Fiscal Year 2011 Supplemental Budget Support Emergency
Act of 2010”: After the District discovered it had a $188 million
deficit for a budget it had already passed, the DC council had to go
back and do some more trimming. This legislation outlines all of the
additional cuts made by the council during a series of debates in early
December.
Act 18-696, “Residential Tranquility Act of 2010”: If you’re the
type of person that protests outside of people’s houses with a mask
on, well, you can now be arrested for it. Feel free to thank Mary Cheh.
Act 18-700, “Open Meetings Amendment Act of 2010”: Yay transparency!
This law mandates that all meetings of governments bodies — including
the DC council — be open to the public. Sure, there are fourteen
reasons listed as to when a meeting can be closed off to public view,
but in most cases things should remain open. An Open Government Office
is also established to ensure compliance. (With the coming $600 million
2012 deficit, we bet this office is DOA.)
Act 18-704, “H Street, NE, Retail Priority Area Incentive Act of 2010”:
If you’re a property owner on H Street NE, this might be good for you.
Basically, this law sets aside taxes generated from the H Street
businesses and uses them to help cover the costs of a large development
on H and Third streets (which will include a Giant grocery store) and to
offer grants to local businesses. The fine print? Those businesses can’t
be liquor stores, restaurants, night clubs, hair salons, barber shops,
or phone stores.
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Running After Running After Running
Denise Wiktor, Denisewiktor@yahoo.com
I have always thought that there should be a prohibition against
running for another office within a period of time of having been
elected. Other cities and counties have such laws. I proposed this at a
recent community meeting, for an issue to work on, and got chuckles from
members more senior than myself that this has been a long-standing issue
in the District. Obviously such a law would have to be only prospective.
I would like to see someone in elected office or running for office take
a stand on it. Special elections cost money and some years we have
election after election after election. It seems the true beneficiaries
are folks running for offices to use a stepping stone to other offices.
I am not pointing fingers at anyone running now, they are merely using
the system that is in place. However, we should fix it.
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Pie? Did Someone Say Pie?
Star Lawrence, jkellaw@aol.com
Don’t you guys have Marie Callender’s or. better yet, Village
Inn? And yes, I remember Sholl’s very well . . . yum! My sister still
moans over the pumpkin pie with real whipped cream at a cafeteria that
closed out here in Arizona — Luby’s.
Pie, people — we need more pie in the world. Oh, and cake.
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As crazy as this may sound, we can also start baking ourselves. While
I haven’t ventured to berry pies yet, I do bake sweet potato, pumpkin,
and even turnip (from a recipe in Yankee Magazine, http://www.yankeemagazine.com/issues/2008-01/food/turnips).
They compared favorably to store bought and bakery-made pies and all I
did was follow recipes. Compared to the most trendy places, home
produced pies were a lot cheaper and provided more satisfaction.
Cheesecake is on the list to make as well, and again, shouldn’t be all
that hard — and compare the cost to buying cheesecake out at three
dollars or more for a piece.
Just as I recommend more self-help in terms of our participation as
citizens in local civic affairs, self-help in food production is in
order also.
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CLASSIFIEDS — EVENTS
Board of Library Trustees Meeting, February 9
George Williams, george.williams2@dc.gov
The DC Public Library Board of Trustees meeting, originally scheduled
for Wednesday, January 26, will be held Wednesday, February 9, at 6:00
p.m. in the Great Hall of the Martin Luther King, Jr., Memorial Library.
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More Than Books at Anacostia Library, February
10
Courtney Hinton, chinton@metroteenaids.org
Metro TeenAIDS will provide free, painless, and confidential HIV
testing in honor of National Black HIV/AIDS Awareness Day at the
Anacostia Branch of DC Public Library. Participants who get tested will
have a chance to win a $25 Gift Card. Testing will only be provided to
individuals thirteen and older.
The event will take place on February 10, from 4:30 to 6:30 p.m., at
the Anacostia Branch of the DC Public Library, 1800 Good Hope Road, SE.
For more information, contact Courtney, 543-9355, or E-mail chinton@metroteenaids.org.
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Woman’s National Democratic Club Events,
February 10
Tonya Butler-Truesdale, gotonyago@gmail.com
“Washington Winter in Reviews.” Broadcast Journalists Sid Davis
and Bill Sheehan have been leading a popular monthly political
discussion session at the Cosmos Club for some ten years. Last July,
they brought their special discussion format to the WNDC, 1526
Massachusetts Avenue, NW. The session was a hit, and they accepted our
invitation to come back, just as the new Congress is getting underway.
Thursday, February 10, bar opens at 11:30 a.m., lunch at 12:15 p.m.,
presentation and question and answer session at 1:00-2:00 p.m. Members
$25, nonmembers $30, lecture only (no lunch) $10. Register at https://salsa.wiredforchange.com/o/5880/p/salsa/event/common/public/?event_KEY=21043
An evening event at the Women’s National Democratic Club, 1526
Massachusetts Avenue, NW, on Thursday, February 10, at 6:00 p.m.: “Pray
the Devil Back to Hell,” a documentary account of brave and visionary
women who demanded peace for Liberia, a nation whose social fabric was
torn to shreds by a decades-old civil war. Sponsored by Democratic
Empowerment through Active Leadership (DEAL) and WNDC Young Dems. The
event is free; register at https://salsa.wiredforchange.com/o/5880/p/salsa/event/common/public/?event_KEY=21076
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Fifth Annual Blacks in Wax, February 12
John A. Stokes, john.astokes@dc.gov
On Saturday, February 12, the Recreation Wish List Committee will
host the fifth annual Blacks in Wax celebration in honor of Black
History Month. After years of critical acclaim, this year’s event,
themed “From Surviving to Thriving,” is reaching new heights, with a
premiere of select characters lining the Hall of States at the
world-renowned John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts at 5:00
p.m. In addition, full performances and a new vignette will take place
on Friday, February 25, at the Blacks in Wax home site, the Southeast
Tennis & Learning Center (SETLC), 701 Mississippi Avenue, SE. The
free performances include an early matinee exhibition exclusive to area
schools at 1:00 p.m. and an evening performance at 7:00 p.m.
The celebrated, must-see production, sponsored by the Recreation Wish
List Committee in partnership with the DC Department of Parks and
Recreation (DPR) and executive produced this year by Reggie Van Lee,
Chair of the Washington Performing Arts Society, features youth from the
SETLC transforming from a “wax replica” of iconic, historical
characters to a live portrayal of these notable, ingenious entertainers,
writers, athletes, and inspirational leaders. Blacks in Wax includes
portrayals of over fifty influential figures from black history,
perfected and brought to life through preparation from youth, parents,
and staff. Famous African Americans portrayed include Madame CJ Walker,
Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., Dr. Maya Angelou, the Supremes, Venus and
Serena Williams, and President Barack Obama. Background research is
conducted in order to educate visitors young and old on the importance
of black history.
The Blacks in Wax museum premier will take place at 5:00 p.m. in the
Hall of States at the John F. Kennedy Center. At 6:00 p.m. on the
Millennium Stage, the SETLC youth scholars, in partnership with the
Washington Performing Arts Society, will have a cameo appearance with
the award-winning a cappella group, Reverb, as they span African
American history through song and moving portrayals of noteworthy
African Americans.
The full performances at the SETLC will also include a vignette
celebrating the economic accomplishments and contributions of African
Americans, past and present, in an original production inspired by Dr.
Julianne Malveaux’s new work, Surviving and Thriving. It will
highlight African Americans from those that bought their own freedom
from slavery to self-made entrepreneurs and trailblazing leaders of
today. There will also be surprise guest appearances and performances.
For more information, contact the Southeast Tennis and Learning Center,
645-6242, or the Recreation Wish List Committee, 678-7530.
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