Standing Up and Speaking Out
Dear Speakers:
Last week, Marshall Banks, a professor at Howard University and the
founder and director of the Langston in the 21st Century Foundation,
which ran youth programs at Langston Golf Course, pled guilty to helping
former Councilmember Harry Thomas, Jr., embezzle city funds (see links
to Banks’ statement of the offense and criminal information at http://www.dcwatch.com/council/ethics.htm).
In his press release announcing the guilty plea (http://www.dcwatch.com/council/ethics120113.htm),
US Attorney Ronald Machen says something that can be directed to DC
voters in general: “Public corruption is allowed to flourish when
ordinary citizens remain silent in the face of obvious wrongdoing. While
Harry Thomas lined his pockets with money meant to benefit children, he
was unable to do so alone. Marshall Banks stood by while Thomas stole
the money and instead of reporting it, actively helped to conceal the
fact that grant funds were being funneled back to Thomas. Today’s
guilty plea underscores the importance of standing up and speaking out
against public officials who are on the take.”
Banks should have spoken out; citizens should speak out rather than
inventing excuses and defenses for public officials who are on the take,
and most of all other public officials should speak out rather than
expressing their solidarity with and sympathy for their crooked
colleagues. Jim Graham should have spoken out when he was offered a
bribe by his council staffer; other employees at Tax and Revenue should
have spoken out when the evidence of Harriet Walters’ embezzlement was
so obvious. That’s the least they can do, the minimum, and most of
them are reluctant to do even the minimum. The minimum we can do is to
stand up and use our votes.
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The state of Virginia has doubts about DC’s law requiring that
house pests be captured and relocated, rather than exterminated, http://cnsnews.com/news/article/va-ag-fears-dc-law-may-relocate-rehabilitated-rat-families-virginia-0.
Surprisingly, it’s not really sure that it wants to welcome our rats
and other vermin.
Gary Imhoff
themail@dcwatch.com
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I’m not in any way, shape, or form in favor of recalling duly
elected officials. I will refuse to sign any recall petitions. The
citizens of the District of Columbia elected the mayor, the chairman of
the city council, and the council members. With the exception of Tommy
Wells and David Catania, I did not vote for any of these people. And I
am proud of that.
However, though the mayor and the chairman of the city council did
not deserve or receive my vote, they did receive enough votes to have
attained their positions legally, and they should be allowed to serve
out their terms — with the exception of what would happen if they’re
indicted, which might be a likely occurrence in several cases. It is a
fact that none of us in the District of Columbia can be proud of our
elected city officials. They are — by and large — a motley crew of
scoundrels, thieves, and crooks; and they are a flagrant disgrace to the
District.
If anyone cares about achieving statehood status for the District, I
hope you know there is a snowball’s chance in hell of its occurring
for a long, long time to come. I’m beginning to believe deservedly so.
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I have no problem with a recall vote, but we here in DC really should
start thinking about some form of parliamentary system whereby the
entire elected city government can “fall” when, as now, they have
clearly abrogated their electoral mandate and should be required to
stand again to remain in public office.
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Larry Neal Writers’ Competition
Marquis Perkins, marquis.perkins@dc.gov
The DC Commission on the Arts and Humanities is proud to announce the
twenty- ninth annual Larry Neal Writers’ Competition, which
commemorates the artistic legacy and vision of cultural understanding of
Larry Neal, a renowned author, academic. and former executive director
of the DC Commission on the Arts and Humanities. The competition honors
the artistic excellence of emerging and established DC writers with
monetary awards for submissions in poetry, essays, dramatic writing, and
short story. Awards will be presented at the twenty-ninth annual Larry
Neal Writers’ Awards Ceremony on May 4, in partnership with the
PEN/Faulkner Foundation, at the Folger Shakespeare Library.
As part of the citywide celebration of the 150th anniversary of the
DC Emancipation Act, the DCCAH will also award teen and youth writers in
a special honorary writing category, DC Emancipation Day: Celebrating
Today’s Freedoms. The District celebrates Emancipation Day on April
16, which commemorates the day President Abraham Lincoln signed the
Compensated Emancipation Act, freeing roughly 3,100 enslaved persons in
the District, nine months before he issued the Emancipation
Proclamation.
Writers must submit entries online through the DCCAH web site (dcarts.dc.gov).
No hand-delivered copies will be accepted. The deadline for all
applications is February 27 by 11:59 p.m. For more information regarding
submitting for the competition, please contact Carlyn Madden (carlyn.madden@dc.gov
or 724-5613) or visit http://www.dcarts.dc.gov.
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InTowner
New
Content Now Online
P.L. Wolff, intowner@intowner.com
This is to advise that the January issue content has been posted at http://www.intowner.com,
including the issue PDF. There will be found the primary news stories
and certain features, including the popular Scenes from the Past (this
month titled “The Accomplishments of Late 19th — Early 20th Century
Builder John H. Nolan”) — plus all photos and other images; other
features not included in the PDF, such as Recent Real Estate Sales
(which will be updated within the next 24 hours), can be linked directly
from the web site’s home page.
This month’s lead stories include the following: 1) “Quality
Renovations of Older Adams Morgan Apartment Buildings by Jubilee Housing
Aiding in Maintaining Area’s Diversity”; 2) “Small Business
Showcased in Adams Morgan”; 3) “DC Public Library Division Head
Honored.”
The next issue PDF will publish early in the morning of February 10
(the second Friday of the month, as usual). For more information, either
send an E-mail to newsroom@intowner.com
or call 234-1717.
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CLASSIFIEDS — EVENTS
The Prospect of Online Gambling, January 19
Shelley Tomkin shelltomk@aol.com
At-Large Councilmembers Michael A. Brown and Phil Mendelson will
discuss the prospect of online gambling in DC at the Ward 3 Democratic
Committee meeting on January 19. The meeting will be held at 7:15 p.m.
at St. Columba’s Episcopal Church, 4201 Albemarle Street, NW. There
will also be a brief presentation on the “No Child Left Behind” law
by the Office of the State Superintendent of Education.
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