Is It Spring Yet?
Dear Correspondents:
Sorry, but a cable outage yesterday delayed this issue of themail.
In the last issue of themail, I asked if anyone had a source that
showed that Marion Barry himself was the originator of the quip that
Barry’s mayoral plan for snow removal was the arrival of spring. So
far, there hasn’t been any direct source for it, although there have
been a couple of close tries. John H. Muller, jmuller.washingtonsyndicate@gmail.com,
sent along an article by Martin Weil and Barbara Carton from the January
26, 1988, Washington Post about “Heavy, Wet Snow Blankets Most
of Area.” From that article: “Mayor Marion Barry, who was widely
assailed last year when city streets were clogged with snow for days
while he was out of town attending Super Bowl festivities, expressed
satisfaction yesterday that the snow did not come later this week. He
had said last week that he would not go to this year’s game in San
Diego or would return early if snow disrupted the weekend here. At a
news conference yesterday he joked with council member Harry Thomas
(D-Ward 5) who pointed out a window to the falling snow as Barry talked
of managing the city. ‘Don’t worry about the snow,’ Barry said.
‘We’re the snow masters. We’re doing that like Doug Williams is
directing the Redskins.’” Second, Tom Grahame, tgrahame@mindspring.com,
wrote: “Gary, this is from the Wash Post, if my memory holds,
probably not the former mayor: ‘Mayor Barry’s snow removal plan is
Biblical: what the Lord giveth, the Lord will take away.’ Something
like that.”
Gary Imhoff
themail@dcwatch.com
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DC Water’s Mega $2.6 Billion Project
Pat Taylor, ptaylor.dc@verizon.net
DC’s water authority, “DC Water,” plans to spend $2.6 billion
on a project to reduce sewage overflow into the Anacostia River, Potomac
River, and Rock Creek. The $2.6 billion is to be paid by DC residents
and businesses.
This is a huge, costly undertaking. Does anyone know whether there
was effective oversight or expert review during the development of plan
for this project? Can DC taxpayers have confidence that the plan is a
cost-effective one and will work as claimed? Can DC taxpayers have
confidence that there will be effective, ongoing oversight during the
implementation of this huge project? Or will this turn into a very
costly failure?
As a longtime DC resident, I am skeptical of the ability of any DC
agency to plan and carry out a project of this cost and magnitude. I’d
be interested to hear from anyone from outside of DC Water that can
provide assurances on these matters.
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In “Seasonal Solutions,” [themail, October 12] Gary ridicules the
Park Service’s gentle handling of the Occupy DC protesters and
predicts that cold weather will clear them out without the brutality and
arrests that characterized the New York police response. I was
flabbergasted! Whose side are you on, Gary? Are you really a fan of the
banks and corporations and millionaires that have brought our country to
the sorry state we’re in? I, and everybody in my neighborhood with
whom I’ve spoken, are totally in support of this protest — and note
that we are people in our 50’s-70’s, solid citizens of the District
of Columbia. We’ve been following the Occupy Wall Street protests with
great interest and cheering them on. We were glad that the protests have
spread to other cities, including DC. Some of us have been down to
Freedom Plaza.
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CLASSIFIEDS — EVENTS
DC Federation of Citizens Associations,
October 15
Anne Renshaw, milrddc@aol.com
The DC Federation of Citizens Associations will hold its October
assembly on neighborhood security on Tuesday, October 25, from 6:45
p.m.-9:00 p.m., at All Souls Memorial Episcopal Church, 2300 Cathedral
Avenue, NW (off Connecticut Avenue). All Souls Memorial Episcopal Church
is near the Woodley Park Metro on the Red Line. The church parking lot
is on Woodley Place, behind the church. Use the entrance down the garden
steps from the parking lot. The door will be open by 6:30 p.m.
Are DC Neighborhoods prepared for an act of terrorism? Another
earthquake? In the aftermath of recent Metro shutdowns, an earthquake,
tropical storm, prolonged public demonstrations and the (thankfully
foiled) assassination attempt of a foreign diplomat, the October 25
Citizens Federation Assembly will focus on not “Homeland Security,”
which is the responsibility of city and federal first responders, but
neighborhood security, which assuredly will be left up to us.
Millicent West, Director, DC Homeland Security and Emergency
Management Agency, will participate in a “community conversation” on
the role of neighborhood associations in neighborhood security planning
and response. Is it enough for DC residents to be told to “shelter in
place” and “have a plan?” Knowing that the city may not be able to
provide emergency assistance to neighborhoods for days (or longer), are
DC neighborhoods ready to fend for themselves? The Citizens Federation
urges DC neighborhood organizations and residents to join in this
critical public meeting on Neighborhood Security. For further
information, contact Anne Renshaw, President, DC Citizens Federation,
363-6880.
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Dream City
Discussion, October 17
John H. Muller, jmuller.washingtonsyndicate@gmail.com
On Monday, October 17, Greater Greater Washington is sponsoring a
discussion with the authors of Dream City, Harry Jaffe and Tom
Sherwood. Mike DeBonis of the Washington Post will moderate. The
event will take place at the Watha T. Daniel/Shaw Library starting at
7:00 p.m., in the lower level meeting room. There will be a question and
answer period.
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National Building Museum Events, October 18
Stacy Adamson, sadamson@nbm.org
Tuesday, October 18, 12:30-1:30 p.m., Building in the 21st Century:
The Evolution of Green Building in Arlington, VA. Free. Registration
required. Walk-in registration based on availability. Joan Kelsch, LEED
AP, green building programs manager for Arlington County, discusses the
county’s efforts to design, construct, and operate environmentally
responsible buildings as part of a five-year climate action program.
Tuesday, October 18, 6:30-8:00 p.m., Spotlight on Design: BIG/Bjarke
Ingels Group. $12 members, $10 students, $20 nonmembers. Registration
required. Walk-in registration based on availability. Bjarke Ingels,
Danish architect and a founding principal of BIG/Bjarke Ingels Group,
believes that quality of life does not have to be sacrificed when
designing environmentally responsible architecture. Ingels explains this
“hedonistic sustainability,” as seen through a variety of BIG
projects that include a combination ski slope and waste incineration
plant and a torqued-pyramid apartment building. 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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Mark Plotkin and Vincent Orange at Ward 3
Democrats, October 20
Shelly Tomkin, shelltomk@aol.com
Political commentator Mark Plotkin and At-Large Council Member
Vincent Orange will speak at the October 20 meeting of the Ward 3
Democratic Committee. The Ward Three Democratic Committee will hold its
regular meeting Thursday, October 20, at 7:15 p.m. at the St. Columba’s
Episcopal Church at 4201 Albemarle Street, NW. The Committee will hold
elections to fill eight vacancies for at-large delegates. (See the Ward
Three Democratic Committee web site for further details at
www.dcward3dems.org.) Following the election, political commentator Mark
Plotkin will speak on strategies to achieve self determination for the
District of Columbia and At-Large Councilmember Vincent Orange will
speak on DC Ethics Reform.
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CLASSIFIEDS — VOLUNTEERS
On Saturday, October 22, there will be a fence restoration project
for the Ten Miles Square boundary stones on the DC/MD side of the
Potomac. The number of fences (and which ones) will depend on the number
of volunteers. Start times are to be determined and will be staggered,
but figure on 8:30 a.m., 9:30 a.m., and 10:30 a.m. Details to follow
once, the volunteer groups are put together. Please contact Stephen
Powers, stephen@designpowers.com,
with any additional questions and let him know if you can join us. Once
the participants are confirmed, teams will be identified and additional
details sent out.
The plan is to cover the fence with paint stripper (I have an eco
friendly bio degradable product that comes recommended for this type of
work). We will have gloves, masks, and goggles and brushes. Wear old
clothes and long sleeves. We then will use scrapers to scrap as much of
the paint and rust off as possible. This will be the hardest part of the
project. We do need to caution folks that the existing paint may be lead
based. If you have an aversion to removing this type of paint, do not
take part.
The next step will be to paint the fence with Rustoleum Rust
Inhibitor and Primer. It is a “combo” product that should help us
out. It is an oil-based product that will be hard to wash off skin (We
will have mineral spirits available). So again . . . wear old clothes
and long sleeves. We don’t recommend wearing shorts. The final step
will be to paint the top coat on. We will have trash bags, some clippers
and rakes, and mulch to do some beautification at the sight. Given the
lessons learned from earlier restoration efforts, we believe we can have
the work completed within three to four hours per fence. We also plan on
taking photos for the American Society of Civil Engineers web site of
before, during, and after to document the day.
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