Paying for Protests
Dear Protesters:
Mayor Gray has asked the federal government to reimburse the District
government $1.6 million dollars for the cost of policing and trash
removal for the Occupy protests, and his argument is that the feds
should pay because the protests have been welcomed by the National Park
Service, a federal agency (http://tinyurl.com/878os2r,
http://tinyurl.com/85rdmdg).
Gray’s argument that the federal government should bear the costs
has some strength, to the extent that the Occupy movement is a national
protest about national issues, and thus is similar to other national
protests that come to DC to address the federal government. But it’s
different in that the Occupy protests aren’t taking place just in DC,
but in many cities throughout the US and other nations, and the federal
government, at least to my knowledge, isn’t repaying the governments
of New York, Cleveland, Portland, San Francisco, or any other cities
their costs for dealing with the protests in their cities. Also, there
was no city administration that was more welcoming to the Occupy
movement than DC. Not even San Francisco or New York was more
enthusiastic about hosting the protesters and embracing their cause. The
protests have become more disruptive and tiresome than Gray and other
administration officials had anticipated, and downtown business
interests have become tired of putting up with the protesters. But a
belated change of heart is a weak argument for presenting the feds with
a tardy bill.
Gary Imhoff
themail@dcwatch.com
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Two Gripes
Elizabeth McIntire, elizabeth at innercity dot org
First, where is our white collar Pelecanos, or Potomac Hiassen, or
Capital Twain? Why is the treasure trove of local material for satire or
intrigue going unmined by talented writers? George could do ward by ward
the political vitriol and bullying; Carl, the lame-brained legislation
and development manipulations (what might the Governor do from his lair
on TR island?); Mark — well, we need someone still living to have some
indignation at the demise of democracy. The best weapon to expose and
deflate self important buffoons is a sharp pen. Sam Smith?
Second, some (many fewer these days) love the crinkle of the Sunday
paper and the ritual that goes with it. I await the delivery of themail
with anticipation on Sunday and Wednesday evenings, or after midnight,
or Monday and Thursday sometime during the day, or later. Gary, what has
happened to your publishing calendar?
[Elizabeth, thanks for asking, but the reason for themail’s recent
tardiness isn’t anything dramatic. I’m on grand jury duty for the
month of December, and I’ve been exhausted on a few of themail’s
publishing days. It will be back on a regular schedule in a week. —
Gary Imhoff]
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A new funding organization for grassroots projects within DC has
started up and just made their first round of grants. The Diverse City
Fund awarded twenty-three grants to a range of social change (not
charity) efforts led by DC residents from communities of color. See http://www.diversecityfund.org
for more information. The next grants round will be this spring.
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Bridging the Digital Divide with the DC
Community Access Network
Phil Shapiro, pshapiro@his.com
There was an interesting blog post today on the Bread for the City
web site about possible ways of bringing broadband in DC to those who
are currently not online, http://tinyurl.com/d54f2ds.
I do some technology volunteering for Bread for the City and am
impressed at the way they see technology access and technology training
as vital to their mission of bringing greater inclusion to our city’s
residents. As you might know, Bread for the City is widely admired for
the support they’ve given to many DC residents.
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InTowner
Real
Estate Sales Listing Updated
P.L. Wolff, intowner@intowner.com
Now posted at http://tinyurl.com/7a5cyfe
are listings of residential real estate sales recorded in October in the
neighborhoods located north of Massachusetts Avenue and M Street,
between North Capitol Street and Rock Creek Road.
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CLASSIFIEDS — EVENTS
Collision Course,
December 19
Patricia Bitondo, pbitondo@aol.com
Joseph A. McCartin is an Associate Professor of History and Director
of the Kalmanovitz Initiative for Labor and the Working Poor at
Georgetown University. He teaches about the twentieth century history of
labor, public policy, and politics. The New York Times recently
called him “an academic who can tell a story.” And Washington
Post columnist E.J. Dionne says, “you’ll be transfixed by the
drama of McCartin’s story-telling.” Collision Course: Ronald
Reagan, the Air Traffic Controllers, and the Strik e That Changed
America enlightens us that Ronald Reagan of the early 1981 was no
union buster. He had been reaching out for union support and in Patco’s
case he agreed to grant concessions more plentiful than any ever granted
to a public employee union by an American president. It was Patco’s
hubris, contends Mr. McCartin, that forced Mr. Reagan’s hand and led
to the union’s subsequent implosion. Collision Course charts
the rise of Patco and other public-sector unions over the course of
twenty years, from the moment that President John F. Kennedy allowed
government workers to bargain collectively. This power, however, came
with strict limitations; unions like Patco were not allowed to strike or
bargain for higher wages. Their negotiations with the government
typically revolved around working conditions.
History books seem to come in two guises these days: popular and
academic. Collision Course is a successful fusion of the two. Mr.
McCartin deals with policy but also with personalities, and the book is
better for it. For anyone at all interested in labor or business
history, this is a recommended event! The book will be available for
purchase and signing. Monday, December 19; bar opens at 11:30 a.m.;
lunch at 12:15 p.m.; lecture, presentation, and question and answer
session, 1:00-2:00 p.m. $25 members; $30 nonmembers; $10 lecture only.
At the Women’s National Democratic Club, 1526 New Hampshire Avenue,
NW. For more information, call 232-7363, ext. 3003, or write pfitzgerald@democraticwoman.org.
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