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September 28, 2011

Ethics Bills

Dear Bill Payers:

Ten ethics bills have been introduced in the city council and are going to come up for hearings within the next month. Would any of them make a difference if it were passed? Will any of them be enforced any more than our current ethics laws are? Do you like and recommend any of them? Promote your favorites, if you have any, and tell us what’s wrong with the others, in upcoming issues of themail.

Gary Imhoff
themail@dcwatch.com

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Fiesta DC: Never Again!
Jack McKay, jack.mckay@verizon.net

For all of my nine years on the Mount Pleasant ANC, I’ve been a supporter of Fiesta DC, an annual event in our neighborhood. But no longer. This year’s event was a day-long nightmare. Problem 1, traffic. Mount Pleasant sits astride two east-west through routes, both of which were blocked by the Fiesta, running the length of Mount Pleasant Street. Huge numbers of drivers, simply attempting to pass through, found themselves lost on our neighborhood streets, trying in vain to find a way across that six-block-long roadblock.

Problem 2, parking. On this Sunday, maybe forty thousand people showed up for the Fiesta, all too many of them in cars, expecting to find free curbside parking. That’s four times the entire population of Mount Pleasant, and parking is scarce enough here without this horde quintupling our population for a day. So they drove around in circles, trying to find parking, and getting in the way of drivers also driving around in circles trying to find a way out, not to mention residents simply trying to get to and from their homes.

Problem 3, vendor’s trucks. Vendors at the Fiesta were supposed to park their trucks down on U Street, and be provided transportation back to the Fiesta. That was too much trouble for some vendors, who parked their big trucks on our residential streets, under stop signs, next to intersections, alongside fire hydrants. Of course the vendors were there for the entire day, so these trucks clogged our streets from dawn until dark.

Problem 4, the men. The men! Here’s what one resident reported to me: “for over six hours Sunday our alley and driveway were used as a toilet and trash can for empty beer cans. My wife came home from work to find a dozen middle-aged men peeing on our house and our neighbors were accosted when they asked one man, I thought reasonably, to stop urinating on their window. The police were called, but after they left, the problem returned.” No one should have to put up with that. No more. Sorry, Fiesta DC, but it’s time for you to find a new home. Mount Pleasant has had enough of this.

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DC Council Luxury Tickets Need to Go
Paul Craney, paul@dcgop.com

The DC Republican Committee sent the attached letter to DC Council Chairman Kwame Brown encouraging him to auction off the DC council luxury suite in the Verizon Center before the beginning of the Washington Capitals season, which starts on October 8. Last week, some DC councilmembers used excuses that they needed to raise taxes for the sake of the “have nots” of our city. Others claimed there were no good alternatives but to raise taxes. The DC Republican Committee is asking Council Chairman Brown to auction the free luxury tickets received by any DC councilmembers in order for them to pay their fair share for the city’s “have nots.”

“Every year luxury tickets become a distraction for DC councilmembers. They complain and moan to the media about who didn’t get what ticket. What they don’t understand is that DC residents find this very annoying. Like moths to a light, they just can’t help themselves from accepting these so called free tickets and talking about it. We are asking Chairman Brown to put every ticket on EBay and deposit the proceeds into the General Fund. It’s hypocritical for Councilmembers to accept these tickets, while increasing taxes and using taxpayer money to redecorate their Council offices. Moody’s may have downgraded the District’s outlook but Chairman Brown can easily use EBay to upgrade our finances,” stated Bob Kabel, Chairman of the DC Republican Committee.

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When People You Know Embody Eternal Values
Phil Shapiro, pshapiro@his.com

When attending the memorial service of longtime DC community builder Dave McIntire, I cried when I heard that he and his fine wife Elizabeth listened to Henry David Thoreau’s book Walden on audiobook shortly before his unexpected passing. Passages from Walden were read at the very moving memorial service, attended by people of all ages and races — bearing witness to Dave’s humble but powerful journey.

And so I dedicated this PCWorld blog post (http://tinyurl.com/44f3gfe) I wrote to Dave and Elizabeth McIntire. I am so grateful that Elizabeth is still with us here in themail@dcwatch.com to share her deep wisdom.

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Fall Issue of Brookland Heartbeat Online
Abigail Padou, brooklandheartbeat@yahoo.com 

The Fall 2011 issue of Brookland Heartbeat is online at http://www.brooklandheartbeat.org. Articles and features in this issue include: Ward 5 8th Graders Lag Other Wards, Chaos Continues at ANC 5B, Ward 5 Eyed for Medical Marijuana, Orange Proposes Jobs Czar and Strip Club Moratorium, Ward 5 Resident Announces Run for DC Council, “Outsider Art” Finds a New Home in Woodridge, and much more, including slideshows of a day in the life of Brookland Hardware, the All Therapy Community Day, and the Art and Artists of Art Enables.

Hard copies of the newspaper will reach greater Brookland homes within a week. To receive a copy electronically, send your E-mail address to brooklandheartbeat@yahoo.com. Brookland Heartbeat is a nonprofit community newspaper mailed to approximately eleven thousand local households and distributed free in local shops. Comments and feedback are welcome.

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CLASSIFIEDS — EVENTS

Hillcrest Wine Tasting and Art Auction, September 30
Michelle Phipps-Evans, invisiblecolours@yahoo.com

The Hillcrest Community Civic Association (HCCA) invites you to an evening of art and wine in the beautiful Ward 7 community on September 30 at St. Timothy’s Church, 3601 Alabama Avenue, SE. The wine tasting will start at 6:00 p.m. and the auction will start at 8:00 p.m. For just $15 for singles or $25 for couples, you may become the proud owner of some eclectic pieces of art. You can buy tickets at http://hillcrestwineandart.eventbrite.com.

If for some reason you cannot make it that evening, the HCCA would appreciate your support. If you decide to purchase art online, go to http://www.marlinart.com and enter the code 63898 at checkout. Should you have any questions, please call Earl Williams at 584-2703.

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Tenley-Friendship Library Book Sale, October 1
Mary Alice Levine, maryalicelevine@starpower.net

The Friends of Tenley-Friendship Library is holding its first book sale since the opening of the new Tenley Library, on Saturday, October 1, between 11:00 a.m. and 4:00 p.m. The sale will be in the Library parking lot, and we hope to see all our neighbors there. We have a terrific selection of new and used books that have never been offered at a used book sale before. Most books are three dollars and under! We have great fiction, including mysteries, thrillers, fantasy. and science fiction; there’s a wide variety of nonfiction: parenting, politics, history, cookbooks, and much more. Our children’s collection is large and covers all ages.

Come early for the best finds. Friends members will be admitted to the sale as early as 10:00 a.m. If you are not yet a member, you may join at the door. Friends membership is $10 for individuals, $20 for families and $25 for businesses. Please bring your own bag. Tenley-Friendship Neighborhood Library is on the corner of Albemarle Street and Wisconsin Avenue, NW, the Tenleytown stop on the Metro Red line.

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National Building Museum Events, October 4
Stacy Adamson, sadamson@nbm.org

Tuesday, October 4, readings at 10:30 and 11:30 a.m. Book of the Month: Tip Tip Dig Dig. Free with paid admission to the Building Zone. Drop-in program. Recommended for ages three to five. Join us in the Building Zone for interactive readings of fall-themed stories and a special craft.

Tuesday, October 4, 10:00-11:30 a.m., Urban Sustainability Initiatives: Challenges and Opportunities. Free. Registration required. Walk-in registration based on availability. How can we create metropolitan areas, cities, and neighborhoods that better balance economic vitality, social equity, and environmental quality? The Honorable Dr. Raphael Bostic, assistant secretary for Policy Development and Research at the US Department of Housing and Urban Development, leads the discussion, followed by a panel of distinguished commentators from academia and the policy world. Both events at the National Building Museum, 401 F Street, NW, Judiciary Square Metro station. Register for events at http://www.nbm.org.

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