Wedge Issues
Dear Wedgified:
Ed Cowan makes a good point, below, about theaters that add a few
bucks to their advertised ticket prices, and expect their customers not
to notice. It’s a common annoyance, but it’s one that I would expect
web marketers to know better than to try to pull. When you’re buying
something on a web site, how often do you abandon your shopping cart at
the last step, and what causes you to change your mind?
I know that the thing that makes me change my mind most often is that
last minute, unexpected, tacked on additional charge — whether it’s
called a shipping charge, a handling charge, a service charge, or
anything else — that catches me by surprise on the last page of the
order. Tell me the price up front. The true, whole, and complete price.
If you’re trying to sell to me, don’t think you’ll get my business
by drawing me in with a low price and then by jacking it up with an
extra charge. You’ll just turn me off from buying at your site. You
go, Ed.
Gary Imhoff
themail@dcwatch.com
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Shakespeare Theater Co. send an E-mail advertising a play (“She
Stoops to Conquer”) at $20. Sounds good. When I sought to buy tickets,
it turned out that the real price, with a $3 wedge added at the Internet
checkout, was $23. Why didn’t STC state in the first instance that the
tickets cost $23?
This wedge, or “service charge,” is a common practice. I
experienced it over the phone with Olney Theater a few month ago, and I
took it up with the management. The General Manager responded that I had
a point and said they would change. When I phoned Olney Theater for
tickets last week, the box office agent announced the nominal price and,
on her own initiative, mentioned the “service charge” and the total
price — which is closer to full transparency.
There is no reason for theaters to low-ball the price, like car
salesmen, then sock the wedge to the patron at the end of the
transaction. I encourage all theatergoers to take this up with theaters
— Arena, Source, the agencies, all of them. If they get enough blow
back, they will move to fully transparent pricing.
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Bing Thom and Weinceck Named Woodridge Library
Architects
George Williams, george.williams2@dc.gov
The DC Public Library has selected the award-winning team of Weinceck
+ Associates and Bing Thom Architects to design the new Woodridge
Neighborhood Library. Located at 1801 Hamlin Street, NE, the new
building will be the first library in the United States designed by
internationally acclaimed architect Bing Thom. The design team was
selected through a competitive bid process that involved Library
officials and community members. Weinceck + Associates has worked on a
broad range of projects, including housing, schools, and master
planning. The firm also served as the architect of record for the
Francis Gregory and Bellevue libraries. Bing Thom Architects designed
the renovation and expansion of Arena Stage at the Mead Center for
American Theater. In addition, the firm designed the innovative Surrey
City Center Library in Surrey, British Columbia.
The Library has allocated $1.48 million to the design work. The
design phase is expected to take six to eight months. The community will
have the opportunity to view the designs as they are developed and
provide feedback. The total project cost is estimated to be $16.5
million. The Woodridge Library opened in 1958. A condition assessment
performed in 2010 found the library to be in need of replacement.
An interim library will open in late 2012 while the Woodridge Library
is being rebuilt. The new Woodridge Library will open in 2015. The new
library will include: space for 80,000 books, CDs, DVDs and other
library materials; 32 public-access computers and free Wi-Fi Internet
access; a large meeting room for up to one hundred people and two
conference rooms for up to fourteen people. Like all other library
buildings under construction, a LEED Silver Certification is expected.
Anacostia, Dorothy I. Height/Benning, Watha T. Daniel/Shaw and Tenley
libraries have received Gold certification from the US Green Building
Certification Institute.
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Few topics concerning the future of our national capital city have
the voltage necessary to jolt NARPAC out of its permanent stupor, but
the Pavlovian resistance to discretely accepting taller buildings within
DC’s city limits is one of them. The ridiculous fears that some
scumbag capitalist will make a profitable investment, or that some
mythical “historic vistas” would be irreconcilably defiled by taller
buildings anywhere in the city limits, need serious treatment. As we
wrote fifteen years ago, “cities without skylines have trouble paying
their bills,” and, as we implied then, they also have trouble
mitigating their own squalor. The old mantra of the slippery slope
leading inevitably to desecration of the inner federal city implies that
DC’s elected city government (and its several local/regional planning
agencies) are and always will be incompetent and/or on the take. If so,
DC’s self-government should be eliminated to restore national pride in
our capital city. And DC should cede its least revenue-productive areas,
those east of the Anacostia, to Maryland for remediation.
The city’s image problems, from its failing school system to its
shabby Metro system, are ultimately exacerbated by its shortage of
taxable acreage, and the limited taxable value of those acres. Just
compare DC’s assessed value per acre to that of its immediate suburban
neighbors, from Silver Spring to Rosslyn, and then compare the relative
poverty, crime, and health statistics as well. The city’s highest
ranking leaders, Issa, Norton and Gray, should avoid timorous tinkering
at the margins. They should insist that DC have the right to develop a
bold, unique skyline that shelters its historic and symbolic core (the
whole “topographic bowl,” if necessary). And they should use the
resulting revenues to develop a resident population and municipal
government that isn’t a national embarrassment.
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People Who Don’t Like DC and Crew and Wilson
Karen Freeman, karen87688@aol.com
[Re: People Who Don’t Like DC, themail, April 15] I agree. With the
exception of college (Providence, RI) and a brief stint in NYC, I am a
lifelong DC resident. I am dismayed at the way the city’s planners are
trying to transform the character of my city — the bike lanes that
nobody uses, the ridiculous traffic light timing, pedestrian- and
dog-friendly everything, and, and, and. . . . This tall building effort
is the last straw. What can we do? Is there a movement I can join?
Also, do you know if DCPS is paying for crew at Wilson, when many DC
schools have inadequate textbooks, etc.? To me, crew seems like a
luxury. Shouldn’t we take care of the basics first?
I ask this question because I am mentoring a recent graduate of
Coolidge High School (my alma mater). He wants to start a business and
he can barely read and write.
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InTowner
Correction
P.L. Wolff, intowner@intowner.com
For those who might have been confused when noticing [themail, April
15] that the mention of this month’s editorial focus as being about
the April 3 primary election did not comport with the actual supplied
title of the editorial, we apologize. We inadvertently failed to delete
what was stated in the notice that had been sent in March. We should
have stated that this month’s editorial states our alarm about the
sudden reemergence of calls to modify DC’s historic height limits and
even allow for high-rise buildings in outer neighborhoods, but which
could nevertheless be seen even from downtown.
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In Sunday’s edition [themail, April 15], Pamela Johnson makes the
bizarre claim that I referred to Vincent Orange as a “sucker” in an
April 2 tweet. Her claim is lacking context. When I noted “this sucker’s
wide open,” it was a reference to the at-large race generally, not
Orange personally. Earlier in the day, I’d done a ward breakdown of
early and absentee voters (http://tinyurl.com/77hbpup),
and my analysis followed from that. The “sucker” reference was last
in a series of three tweets:
1) “At-large race food for thought: Take # of votes already cast by
ward, apply VO’s ‘11 ward shares and he can expect 34.4% this time.”
2) “Assumes (a) non-Orange voters in 11 won’t vote for him this
time, either, & (b) Election Day ward split will resemble
early/absentee split”
3) “In other words, this sucker’s wide open.”
I would also note that the close results of the race would indeed
seem to indicate that, yes, the sucker was wide open.
Links to the tweets:
https://twitter.com/#!/mikedebonis/status/186984913910767616
https://twitter.com/#!/mikedebonis/status/186985308192124929
https://twitter.com/#!/mikedebonis/status/186985427977252864
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Pamela Johnson on DeBonis’ Tweets
Richard Holzsager, Takoma, DC, holzsager@rcn.com
With all due respect to Pamela Johnson [themail, April 15], and
passing no judgment on Dorothy Brizill’s concerns about Mike DeBonis,
I think Ms Johnson misconstrued DeBonis’s sucker comment. It seems
obvious to me that the sucker in question was not Orange, but the race
itself. He could as easily have said “this puppy,” or, less
colorfully, “this thing.” To say the race is wide open makes perfect
sense; to say that Vince Orange is wide open makes no sense whatsoever.
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CLASSIFIEDS — EVENTS
Ward 2 Budget Townhall, Thursday, April 19
Debbie Schrieber, president@dupont-circle.org
Please join the Dupont Circle Citizens Association on Thursday, April
19, in welcoming the mayor as he presents and dialogs about the budget.
This is a great opportunity for the mayor and his cabinet to hear
directly from Ward 2 residents and stakeholders on the budget, as well
as on other issues related to quality of life in our neighborhoods.
Charles Sumner School, 1201 17th Street, NW, 6:30 p.m.-8:30 p.m.
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Tour Historic McMillan Park, April 21
Mary Farrell, mjranc6b03@aol.com
The original McMillan Park gardens were designed by Frederick Law
Olmsted, Jr. Olmsted, Sr. is known as the “father of American
landscape architecture, having designed New York’s Central Park, the
US Capitol grounds, Stanford University, and the country’s oldest
state park, the Niagara Reservation in Niagara Falls. DC residents
enjoyed access to McMillan park until World War II. In 1985, the slow
sand filtration plant at McMillan was replaced with a new rapid sand
filter plant. The tour will be on Saturday, April 21, from 10:00 a.m. to
1:30 p.m., at the entrance, 1st Street, NW, one block north of Channing
Street. Metered parking available.
Sponsored by ANC Commissioners Tony Norman, James Fournier, Mark
Mueller, and Hugh Youngblood. Free tour and refreshments. Kids and pets
welcome (if monitored). Come see, photograph, and enjoy this uniquely
historic site.
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Tenley-Friendship Neighborhood Library
Children’s Event, April 21
Sue Hemberger, smithhemb@aol.com
Bring your kids (or grandkids!) to Tenley Library this Saturday at
3:00 p.m. to hear local author Sue Ruff read from and discuss Artie
and Merlin, her charming illustrated chapter book about the science
of mammals.
Ms. Ruff is a a freelance researcher, writer, and editor who has
worked for the National Geographic Society and volunteered at
Smithsonian’s National Zoo and National Museum of Natural History. Her
co-author, Don E. Wilson, is a Curator Emeritus at the Smithsonian’s
National Museum of Natural History. Ms. Ruff and Dr. Wilson also
co-edited The Smithsonian Book of North American Mammals and are
currently editing an 8-volume series called Handbook of Mammals of
the World.
The Tenley-Friendship Neighborhood Library is located at 4450
Wisconsin Avenue, NW (at Albemarle), just across the street from the
Tenleytown Metrorail station. The Childrens’ Area is on the library’s
ground floor.
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Fortytude: Making the Next Decades the Best
Years of Your Life, April 26
Patricia Bitondo, pbitondo@aol.com
According to Sarah Brokaw, a therapist and daughter of the former NBC
news anchor Tom Brokaw, turning forty can present women with a beautiful
opportunity for powerful self-reflection and self-improvement. Making
the most of this critical milestone takes a kind of strength that Brokaw
calls “fortytude,” and she identifies five core values — grace,
connectedness, accomplishment, adventure, and spirituality — that can
help women thrive as they navigate the journey from age 35 onwards. She
profiles American women from different walks of life: an overweight
Wisconsin nurse, resolving to live her own life more fully after her
sister’s suicide, undergoes gastric bypass surgery; a California
ceramics artist is inspired by her daughter to accept her small breast
size; a brigadier general who mentors other women through the
difficulties of military life and the horrors of war. Brokaw, a single
woman, decides to freeze her eggs, a decision that enabled her to stop
searching frantically for a partner; and a television producer honors
her late mother by raising money online for nonprofit organizations.
Although Brokaw’s advice is helpful and inspirational, it is also
generic and familiar. The book will be available for purchase and
signing.
April 26 at the Woman’s National Democratic Club, 1526 New
Hampshire Avenue, NW. Bar opens at 11:30 a.m.; lunch 12:15 p.m.;
lecture, presentation, Q&A: 1:00-2:00 p.m. Members $25, nonmembers
$30; lecture only $10. Register at https://salsa.wiredforchange.com/o/5880/p/salsa/event/common/public/?event_KEY=35321
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Connect.DC’s Community Broadband Summit,
April 28
DC State Board of Education, dcdocs@dc.gov
Saturday, April 28, at 10:00 a.m., Thurgood Marshall Academy Public
Charter High School, 2427 Martin Luther King Junior Avenue, SE. Join us
for one of the best learning, sharing, and networking events for
District residents, businesses, nonprofits and technology advocates, a
town hall meeting on Why Broadband Access Matters, Technology: DC’s
New Growth Engine, and Growing Careers Through Broadband. There will be
a community forum including Digital Inclusion Centers, Technology Expo,
Demos and Tutorials, and Mobile Tech Lab Appearance, and there will be
lifestyles and technology workshops and Digital Inclusion Day
activities. Register now at http://www.Connect.DC.gov
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Metropolitan Regional Gang Intervention
Certification Graduation Program, May 3
Chelsea Miller, cmillar@chsfsc.org
The Columbia Heights Shaw Family Support Collaborative will sponsor a
Metropolitan Regional Gang Intervention Certification Graduation Program
on Thursday, May 3, from 10:00 a.m. until 1:00 p.m. at the Silver Spring
Civic Center Main Ballroom, 1 Veterans Plaza, Silver Spring, Maryland
20910.
Intervention workers have participated in a first-of-its-kind gang
intervention certification program that will help to set the standard
for gang intervention work in the region. We believe this training will
help to not only professionalize gang intervention work but also enhance
our intervention efforts in the region. The training has bought together
the Columbia Heights Shaw Family Support Collaborative, Montgomery
County Street Outreach Network, and the Prince Georges County Office of
Public Safety.
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