Dear Dieters:
Here are seven health foods that are good for you, around which a
balanced diet can be built: coconut oil, coffee, whole milk, salt,
chocolate, popcorn, and eggs. That’s according to Evelyn Nieves in an
article that was published on two irreproachably leftist web sites,
Salon and Alternet, “7 foods that were supposed to be incredibly
unhealthy — but are actually anything but,”
http://tinyurl.com/ln4cpym. The
politics of the web sites are important because diet and nutrition have
been politicized. You aren’t really what you eat, but you vote the way
you eat. Do you eat quinoa and drink acai juice, or do you eat
hamburgers and drink malted milks? Are your salads made of kale and
romaine lettuce, or of spinach and iceberg lettuce? You know who you
are, then, and which side of the ballot you will be voting on.
Nieves’ article is important because it is a crack in the iron wall
between leftist foods and right-wing foods. It presents me with hope
that there can be peace in the political battles over which foods can be
favored and which must be heavily taxed, forbidden to children (at least
in their school diets), or banned completely because, you know,
“science” tells us so. The food battles aren’t really about health,
nutrition, or science. They are about who can exercise power over whom,
who can flex his or her steroid-enhanced muscles and push his will on
people whose mouths water for the wrong foods. If you want to keep
politicians out of your bedroom, keep them out of your kitchen, too, if
only for consistency’s sake.
Gary Imhoff
themail@dcwatch.com
###############
MLK Memorial Library, Part I
Dorothy Brizill,
dorothy@dcwatch.com
Last week, Mayor Gray and the DC Public Library (DCPL) Board of
Trustees announced the selection of an architectural team of Mecanoo
Architecten, headquartered in the Netherlands, and Martin and Johnson,
based in Washington, to oversee the renovation of the Martin Luther
King, Jr., Memorial Library, DC’s central library at 9th and G Streets,
NW. This selection follows years of acrimonious public debate, beginning
with the effort of Mayor Williams in 2006 either to demolish the
building or to sell it to developers and to relocate DC’s central
library to New York Avenue and the old convention center site (http://www.dclibrary.org/mlkfuture).
During the February 18 press conference, Neil Albert, presently the
chair of the library boards’ facilities committee, claimed that the
selection process was “open and transparent.” A detailed review,
however, suggests otherwise. In truth, the winning architectural firms
were actually chosen by a secret, seven-member Technical Committee
established last summer and chaired by DCPL’s retired chief librarian,
Ginnie Cooper. The library’s Board of Trustees, had it participated in
the selection process, would have been required to meet publicly and
discuss the selection process at its biweekly public meetings. The
Technical Committee never met publicly. To give the false impression
that there was community input into the selection of the architectural
team, however, a fourteen-member Advisory Committee was established this
past January by DCPL, but this Advisory Committee met formally only
once, and then just for an hour, ten days prior to the February 18 press
conference. It discussed the qualities and qualifications that should be
considered when choosing an architectural firm to renovate MLK. It did
not discuss the plans themselves; the plans were not presented to it,
and neither were the project costs in the proposals submitted by the
three finalist firms. It wasn’t until February 13 that DCPS issued a
press release detailing, for the first time, the existence and
memberships of the Technical and Advisory Committees (http://dclibrary.org/node/40419).
In the coming months, the library staff will draft a contract with
the architectural firms and formally submit it to the library’s Board of
Trustees for approval prior to its being transmitted to the DC city
council. It is unclear what the contract will contain, since there is
still no agreement among all the stakeholders, the board, and city
officials regarding the building’s future design and whether, for
example, a public-private partnership will need to be established and
additional floors added to the building’s structure to help underwrite
the projected cost of $250 million.
###############
Delayed Opening for Sharpe and Mamie D. Lee Schools Consolidation
Candi Peterson,
saveourcounselors@gmail.com
DC Public School’s plans to renovate River Terrace Elementary School
have been delayed due to an unusual find of native American Indian
artifacts. Officials from the Office of Specialized Instruction, along
with Cluster XI Instructional Superintendent Terry DeCarbo, announced at
an impromptu meeting on February 18 that plans to merge disabled
students from Mamie D. Lee and Sharpe Health schools would not happen
until August 2015. A letter from Dr. Beers, DCPS Chief of Specialized
Instruction, sent to parents on February 20 confirmed the delay in River
Terrace’s opening,
http://www.dcwatch.com/themail/2014/140220.pdf.
Both schools educate severely disabled students. Last school year, in
2013, the consolidation of these schools was announced and expected to
be completed by August 2014. An outcry from parents was the backdrop at
school meetings held to discuss the impact of school closures and
consolidations in different wards throughout the city. Among the most
vocal were Sharpe Health School parents who expressed concerns that
River Terrace was not accessible to disabled students, placed students
at great risk due to polluted soil and water at a nearby power plant,
and was located at one of the most dangerous Metro stations (Minnesota
Avenue Metro). Lost to students from both schools would be long time
established partnerships, a therapeutic pool, and experienced veteran
teachers and staff who have helped students achieve despite incredible
physical and mental challenges.
DC Central office officials called the meeting, and notified teachers
and school staff of both schools of it with only twenty-four hours
advance notice. DCPS failed to contact representatives of the Washington
Teachers’ Union (WTU), the Council of School Officers (CSO), or AFSCME.
A teacher at Mamie D. Lee notified me so I was able to attend. A Power
Point presentation was shown, but it was not provided to attendees. It
outlined the strategic plan to proceed with interviewing staff for the
consolidated school. Members of the Central Office hiring team explained
that although students would stay put for another year at their
respective schools, plans were underway to locate River Terrace’s
administrative team and school staff by August 2014. Mr. Brooks, hiring
manager, said in one of the sessions; “We know this is incredibly
difficult and with the utmost respect we come to you. . . . It is a very
good chance we can help you find something else.” Beers’ letter to
parents failed to mention that teachers and school staff from both
schools would be displaced.
Teachers and staff were handed out Frequently Asked Questions fact
sheets, one in green for WTU members and one in yellow for
administrative and support staff,
http://www.dcwatch.com/themail/2014/140220b.pdf. DC teachers can
expect pink slips effective the last day of school June 19, 2014, which
gives Highly Effective and Effective teachers sixty days from that date
to find a new position (August 18, 2014) or face possible separation.
Administrative and support staff will face a Reduction in Force (known
as RIF) on August 19, 2014. If these staff members don’t secure a
position by that date they will face being separated from service. Staff
in both locations, including the schools’ principals, were solemn faced
and perplexed about what they heard. One of the most vocal critics was
Cheryl Gillette, Mamie D. Lee’s WTU building representative, who has
been an advocate for students. She has challenged the management
decision to consolidate the schools and said that it will harm the
district’s most vulnerable students and displace teachers with
specialized training who go above and beyond in working with students
intellectual and physical health challenges.
A DCPS former Sharpe parent who was in attendance at that meeting
requested anonymity. She said, “I’ve seen staff come and go. What looks
good on paper is not good in person. You are all making decisions but
you don’t know these kids; these teachers know these kids.” Maurice
Asuquo, a blind teacher at Sharpe, captured parent sentiment when he
made a passionate appeal on behalf of DC’s disabled students. Asuquo
said; “I would be very disappointed if I find out someone wants to take
this building (Sharpe Health School) from disabled students. . . . Don’t
dump them behind a highway. I think it’s dirty. Don’t hide me behind a
highway, don’t expose me to chemicals. I appeal to the consciousness of
those who care, whether it’s the mayor, Councilmember Muriel Bowser, or
Councilmember Vincent Orange. It’s so unfair. People aren’t listening to
what we are saying. I’m going to speak up for the children.”
Last year I had hoped district officials would come to their senses
and remove Mamie D. Lee and Sharpe Health schools from the school
closure/consolidation list. Certainly there were a host of other options
the district could have considered, such as renovating Sharpe and
housing both schools there in a longtime established school in upper NW,
in a much safer neighborhood. No credible school system treats its most
vulnerable population in this manner. Loosing your school is bad enough,
but robbing students of their long-term teachers, principals, and school
staff who have been vital to their achievement is not in our students’
best interest. I’m with Asuquo; somebody has to speak up for the
children.
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