Getting Schooled

Dear People:

In a personal E-mail, Marc Borbely provided the correct link to his
petition on school closings, http://RightsizeRight.org,
and said that “I’m worried that people who aren’t able to read the
petition won’t understand that it doesn’t oppose the closings per
se, but asked the board not to move forward at least until more answers
can be provided.” Below, Borbely and a few others comment on
Superintendent Janey’s proposal for the initial round of school
closings. So far, people are mostly critical, and the criticism, if I
can paraphrase it, is largely that DCPS hasn’t adequately consulted
with the public, and when it has consulted hasn’t listened to what the
public has told them. Does anyone want to step up to defend Janey’s
plan? If it’s so bad, why have the Post, the Times, and
the school board supported it enthusiastically? Do the people just not
understand the wisdom of the powers that be, or are the planners and their
consultants so sure of their wisdom that they don’t see the need to
take into account what the people really want?

Gary Imhoff

[email protected]

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Another City’s Expensive Cast-Off

Dorothy Brizill, [email protected]

As I reported in themail on May 17, the DC Library Board of Trustees
did in fact hold a special meeting on Thursday at which it voted to
appoint Ginnie Cooper as the new head of the DC Library system. Cooper
is currently the executive director of the Brooklyn Public Library. At a
press conference following the board meeting, neither John Hill,
chairman of the Trustee Board, nor Ms. Cooper would discuss the terms of
her appointment. However, the next day, Friday, Hill issued a press
release indicating that Cooper is expected to assume her position this
summer, probably in August, and that her pay rate will be $205,000
($179,946 plus a “retention incentive” of $25,054). In Brooklyn,
Cooper was paid $200,000 per year to oversee the fifth largest
independent library system in the US, with sixty libraries serving three
million residents. In DC, Cooper will be paid $205,000 to oversee a much
smaller library system of twenty-five library facilities serving 570,000
residents. Her salary continues the Williams administration’s policy
of massive pay inflation for top-level government officials. As the May
19 edition of The Common Denominator reports, the library’s
current interim director, Francis Buckley, is paid $138,159; and the
library’s previous director, Molly Raphael, earned $121,000 after
thirty-three years of service to DCPL.

In a press release announcing Cooper’s appointment, the library
board says that “Cooper brings a clear vision of excellence in library
services, as well as success in library management and fundraising to
the executive director position.” However, New York City newspapers
have been replete with stories of Cooper’s management snafus. Last
year she had to repay $27,000 after auditors found that she had taken
more than six weeks of vacation that were not allowed in her contract.
The New York Sun reported that “the Brooklyn Public Library
system has struggled with budget cuts, and its branches are currently
open fewer hours that those of either of the city’s other two library
systems, New York and Queens.” The New York Daily News quoted
NYC Councilman Charles Barrow on Cooper’s appointment to head the DC
Library system: “I’m sure there won’t be a whole lot of tears . .
. over her departure.”

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The Saga Continues

Jonetta Rose Barras, [email protected]

Personnel problems at the DC Department of Parks and Recreation —
where the agency’s director, Kimberley Flowers, last year created new
positions for her friends from Baltimore — have taken an interesting
turn. Shawniqua Ottley, acting human resources director at the DPR, was
placed on administrative leave following allegations that she used,
without authorization, the computerized personnel system to increase her
salary. This was discovered, say government sources, after I reported
Ottley’s salary and title in an article in themail about Flowers’
deliberate circumventing of the city’s personnel laws. Ironically,
Flowers and others in Mayor Anthony A. Williams administration’s cite
those same laws as the reason for not answering specific questions about
the nature and length of Ottley’s leave. A review into the allegations
is underway. If Ottley is found to have used the pass code without
authorization, she could face criminal charges, say government sources.
Ottley could not be reached for comment.

This is sweet for Flowers and her Baltimore cohorts, particularly
Roslyn Johnson, who admitted to this reporter that she inflated the
salary and employment history in a resume provided to the DC Office of
Personnel to obtain her nearly $106,000 deputy director position at the
DPR. Flowers can now blame everything on Ottley. Meanwhile, sources say
that Johnson is arguing she submitted two resumes and that the wrong one
landed in the personnel files, according to government sources. Were
Ottley around, she might confirm this story, with a caveat: the first
resume was sent back by OP with a note that Johnson didn’t qualify for
the position, say government sources familiar with the situation. A
second resume, the one obtained by me, was sent to the OP. It was, by
Johnson’s own admission, inflated. The rest is history.

As the twin investigations take place, residents complain about the
quality of service including maintenance at some centers. Moreover, they
say Flowers and her team also have shown a disregard for
citizen-advisory groups, which often foot the bill and put in thousands
of volunteer hours to improve their neighborhood facilities.
Interestingly, DC Councilmember Kathy Patterson, head of the committee
that oversees the DPR and who is running for chairman, has yet to hold a
hearing. It’s clear Flowers and her handpicked crew are mismanaging
the agency. They should resign.

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Non-DC Vehicles, Overnight Parking, and a
Failure to Enforce

Mark Eckenwiler, themale at ingot dot org

If your block is parked up with the same non-DC vehicles taking space
night after night, you can thank Councilmember Carol Schwartz and Acting
Parking Services Branch Manager Kathy Matthews ([email protected],
541-6062). I say this because despite repeated complaints, DC’s
out-of-state parking regulations (ROSA) are being enforced in what can
only be described as a half-assed way.

Under 18 DCMR 429, vehicles “housed” in DC must be registered
within thirty days. Moreover, the regulations provide for the ticketing
(at $100 a pop) of offenders, according to a detailed schedule of
observations. (In sum, the vehicle has to be seen by enforcement at
least three times: 1) an initial observation, 2) a second time at least
fifteen days later (at which point a detailed written warning must be
issued), and 3) an observation at least fifteen days after the warning.)
In practice, an out-of-District vehicle is unlikely to be ticketed
before two or three months pass, owing to a variety of factors. Under
the regulations, after the first ROSA ticket is issued, the offending
vehicle is supposed to be ticketed each and every time it is seen
thereafter by enforcement, with no further grace period.

To support ROSA enforcement, the Department of Public Works has set
up a database to keep track of vehicles over time. However, the current
practice is that once a ROSA ticket is issued, the enforcement clock on
that vehicle is reset, restarting the cumbersome warning-and-waiting
grace period. As a result, scofflaws can expect to be ticketed at most
once every two or three months (again, owing to several factors,
including a lack of adequate enforcement staff), rather than every night
as DC law requires. Having carefully documented this process in my
neighborhood and confirmed it in conversations with Parking Services
workers, I brought the problem to the attention of Carol Schwartz, who
chairs the Public Works Committee. I also spoke with and E-mailed Kathy
Matthews, who is DC’s top parking enforcement official. Ms. Matthews
obstinately insists that the regulations are being followed, ignoring
irrefutable evidence to the contrary and refusing to reply to my E-mail.
So far as I can tell, Carol Schwartz has done nothing.

I bear my neighbors no ill will, but I have this crazy idea that they
need to register their cars in DC, as I have, if they actually live here
and want a piece of the increasingly scarce overnight parking pie. (I
also don’t quite understand why people refuse to register here. Are
they avoiding jury duty? DC income tax? Informed speculation is welcome.
Crazier still, I have the irrational notion that the District’s public
officials should ensure the proper enforcement of the laws, especially
when those rules protect the interests of District residents dumb enough
to abide by the law.

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Monday’s Busy Calendar

Dorothy Brizill, [email protected]

Tomorrow, the Council’s Committee of the Whole will consider three
bills that propose charter amendments that could appear on the November
ballot. They all focus on public education in DC. Bill 16-669, the DC
Education Rights Charter Amendment Act of 2006, would “amend the
Charter of the District of Columbia to recognize a fundamental right to
educational opportunities as a foundation of the District’s democratic
system of government and to require that the District of Columbia
provide a system of high quality public schools to every child.” Bill
16-708, the District of Columbia Education Policies Charter Amendment
Act of 2006, would “amend the Charter of the District of Columbia to
require the District of Columbia to facilitate the provision of a system
of high-quality public schools by requiring that the Board of Education
and the Superintendent establish policies to ensure that all 3rd grade
students are able to read independently and understand the fundamentals
of mathematics upon being promoted to the 4th grade; and all 8th grade
students are able to read at or above grade level and are exposed to
pre-algebra concepts in preparation for high school.” And Bill 16-751,
the School Budget Purpose Charter Amendment Act of 2006, would “amend
the Charter of the District of Columbia to expand the role of the
Council in approving the annual budget for the Board of Education.”

Also tomorrow morning, federal Judge Richard J. Leon is scheduled to
sentence Gwen Hemphill for her role in the embezzlement of funds from
the Washington Teachers Union. Hemphill’s sentencing has been delayed
since she was convicted in September on twenty-three counts, including
embezzlement, money laundering, conspiracy, and wire fraud. Hemphill and
her legal council have argued that she suffers from a “mental disease
or defect” that “so diminished her mental capacity to appreciate the
wrongfulness of her conduct that she deserves leniency in sentencing.”
The US government prosecutors are asking that she be given a minimum of
a nineteen-year jail sentence under federal sentencing guidelines.
Hemphill’s attorney is asking that she be sentenced to home
confinement.

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The Bad News Is

Ed T. Barron, edtb1@macdotcom

With all the complaints about the Washington Nationals and their
obsolete stadium and services, there were over thirty thousand folks at
the game Friday night between the Nats and the Baltimore AngelOs. We sat
in the lower deck, a bit far back in the middle of a large contingent of
Baltimore fans. People have complained about the bad food, but the good
news is there’s plenty of it. Lots of folks were eating and drinking
up a storm. There was a lot more interesting action in the stands than
on the field. The Nationals lost again and played pathetically in both
the field and at the plate. The Orioles were only a bit better. A few
very good defensive infield plays for both teams and one rifle shot line
drive hit the Nationals’ pitcher smack on the shoulder of his pitching
arm. Amazingly, he pitched another scoreless inning and a half, trailing
by only one run. That run was due to a fielding misjudgment that
resulted in a triple. Will attend at least one more game in September
wearing my bright red shirt in honor of my favorite team, the St. Louis
Cardinals.

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Janey Does the Pussyfoot on School Closings

Len Sullivan, [email protected]

In my fifty-odd years in industry, federal government, and
independent consulting, I never ran across a successful manager or
leader who bellied up to a serious, unpopular but necessary, action by
taking tiny steps on tippytoes hoping no one would notice, mind, or stay
tuned. Marc Fisher’s comments are dead on as far as they go. What Mr.
Fisher missed is that each time Janey comes back with another trivial
and ineffective cut, the resistance will be higher, better organized,
and more powerful in extracting promises not to keep pursuing the real
goal. Each small ineffectual cut lowers the chances of ever achieving
the essential objectives of personnel upgrading and property
disposition. For those committed to the supposition that Janey is
competent to hold his well-paid managerial job, the only rational
conclusion is that he is determined to defeat any meaningful
consolidation of our capital city’s crumbling, nationally
embarrassing, school system. He is setting up the perfect blameless
excuse for not being allowed to do his primary job. If the School Board
supports this sham, they should share his shame.

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School Consolidation and Rightsizing

Joyce Robinson-Paul, Chairperson of the Local School
Restructuring Team, [email protected]

Rightsizing is really wrongsizing. Why take space from children and
cramp them into a school like sardines? Overcrowding has never been an
atmosphere of learning. There are far reaching consequences to the
decision of closing schools by June 28. Why would DCPS put pre-K
(elementary children with adolescents)? Living four blocks from Terrell
Junior High, the teens are out of control. Every third word out of their
mouths is a curse word. I have witnessed them punching, kicking, and
beating homeless people trying to get to something for a free meal.
Several turf wars have resulted in shooting, beatings, and assaults on
each other. Why are we putting our toddlers and pre-K children in this
crossfire? We send their mothers out to work or to job training and they
pray everyday that their children make it across the street safely and
back in the house without being victims. Adolescents are going through
several changes in middle school; it is disheartening to put our little
people in this setting.

Additional concerns are as follows: 1) If rightsizing takes affect,
many of the parents are going to put their children in Charter Schools.
2) Many of the charter schools will move into the closed buildings,
which will attract many of the displaced students. 3) DCPS will lose
many more students and continue to be underpopulated until the demise of
the Public School System. 4) DCPS has no expertise in handling real
property so any money saved will have to be used to create a Facilities
Management and Realty Team that handles the vacant buildings. How will
they address security, fires, vandalism, destruction of vacant property,
and collecting rent? 5) DCPS should not be in the business of becoming a
real estate magnate; its priority should be educating the District
children and residents. 6) DCPS and the Board of Education is paying
over 42 million to rent property for office space. Why not modernize and
move into the vacant buildings that they are closing, and save the
taxpayers money and have additional funds to educate the children?

It appears that DCPS is cutting off their nose to spite their face,
since they are feeling in the dark and making up a plan as they go
along. Sitting through several hearing lately, it appears that the Board
of Education is approving everything that is proposed. Long ago, when
parents fought to keep schools open, we had very few free alternative to
educate our children. Now we can move our children to charter schools
and leave DCPS with underpopulated schools. Are we trying to save public
education or destroy it in the nation’s capitol?

###############

Rightsizing Proposal

Rosalyn I. Jones, [email protected]

As with any plan, what looks workable on paper sometimes turns out to
be disastrous upon implementation. This plan is a nightmare waiting to
happen. We all understand that changes need to be made for the health of
the DC education system, but we can’t sacrifice our children’s need
for a safe and stable learning environment. It would seem that DCPS has
not taken sufficient steps to bring the stakeholders together for
discussion of the plan’s specifics (time lines, project mangers,
etc.), logistical problems during implementation, equipment and
maintenance concerns, or the staffing issues that will result from the
proposed closings and consolidations.

It seems very unlikely that DCPS can accomplish such a monumental
change before the SY06/07 school year begins without considerable input
from school administrators and the affected communities.

###############

RightsizeRight.org

Marc Borbely, [email protected]

The school system is right to address the excess space it now has as
a result of declining enrollment. However, many public school supporters
worry that schools will be closed this summer not because it will be
best for kids or the school system, but because fiscal conservatives are
demanding it, no matter the human cost. The public deserves a full
explanation of how the expected financial and academic benefits will
outweigh the expected disruption to families and neighborhoods. Some of
the closures may put children in better schools; any that do not should
not move forward. In February, the school board planned to approve
closures this summer and implement them next summer. In March, the board
decided to approve and implement the closures this summer — a
timetable that top school officials have acknowledged publicly is
"compressed."

Our latest open letter to the school board, signed by 200 parent,
teacher and community leaders, and concerned citizens, and delivered
before the initial vote this past Wednesday, asked the school board not
to formally propose specific school closures until it had answers to
such questions as: 1) how were these schools targeted for closure? 2)
What will be done this summer to ensure that the receiving schools are
ready for the new students? 3) How much money will be saved by closing
each of these schools this summer? 4) Why not close headquarters, before
closing a school? and 5) Is there buy-in from families, to ensure they
won’t just leave DCPS, causing a further downward spiraling of
enrollment? (See http://RightsizeRight.org
for this letter and one we sent in March, asking the school board to
reassess its timeline.)

The school board moved forward this week without responding to our
letter or providing answers to these questions, but it did direct the
Superintendent to release transition plans for each school at least one
business day before each of the upcoming school-specific school-closing
hearings. Sign up at http://RightsizeRight.org
if you would like to help make sure that the school closure process
causes minimal chaos and disruption to families and neighborhoods; that
each closing, merger, or co-location that moves forward makes sense for
the children and families involved; and that the necessary resources and
support (from DCPS, parents, teachers, students, and neighborhoods) will
be present.

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Another Scam Uncovered

Ed T. Barron, edtb1@macdotcom

At this time of year the gardens in northwest DC are spectacular.
Many of the local gardeners have beautiful roses. These are tough to
raise because of diseases and bugs, particularly aphids. Companies have
been marketing boxes of lady bugs in some of the publications read by
local gardeners. For only $21 you can get about 4500 lady bugs. Each
lady bug is capable of devouring up to 5000 aphids. This, unfortunately,
is a scam. You’ll get the 4500 lady bugs but they won’t be around
for long since they are raised in the west and will promptly migrate
back to where they were raised. I think I’ll prowl around the
neighborhood with my net and catch some local lady bugs.

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IRV Voting

Jenefer Ellingston, [email protected]

[Re: Harold Foster, “Instant Run-Off Voting,” themail, May 17] The Statehood Green party has a plank in its platform in support of IRV
(and later, proportional representation). From its beginning, the
national Green Party has opposed the “winner take all” election
process that prevails on state and federal level. IRV is a small step
toward democratizing our voting system by allowing a wider choice and,
at same time, demanding that the winner must gain the majority of the
vote, not the plurality. Another virtue of IRV is that many disaffected
and discouraged voters have a reason to vote, because IRV widens the
choice.

Several years ago, two Statehood Green members did the rounds of the
city council to sound them out on passing a bill to install IRV. Some of
the councilmembers had never heard of IRV. No one was willing to take
the lead on such a bill, wondering what would it cost? We also inquired
about its feasibility with the company that designed our voting
machines. Yes, for $100,000 they could install IRV in our machines
(maybe the cost was higher — I’m going on memory). Maybe you can
persuade the council of the need for IRV and that the cost is not
prohibitive.

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DMV Counterpoint

Paul Wilson, dcmcrider at gmail dot com

In contrast to David Sobelsohn’s woes in dealing with DMV (themail,
May 17), I can offer two recent experiences that prove the District
government does provide good, hassle-free customer service on occasion.
Back in February I lost my driver’s license while on vacation. Don’t
even get me started on the hassles involved in procuring a rental car in
the absence of a driver’s license. The Department of Motor Vehicles,
on the other hand, was a joy to deal with in this particular fiasco. I
requested a duplicate drivers license on-line, paid the $7 fee by debit
card, and it was in my hands by return mail in about five business days.

Second experience: I needed a residential parking permit for my
motorcycle. Again, the transaction was handled promptly and correctly,
via the web site interface and return mail. I was even sent the correct
sticker, which has not always been the case in the past. Motorcycles get
the old-style combination registration and RPP sticker that adheres to
the license plate. So, two thumbs up for DMV in my recent experience.

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Johns on DCTV

Liz Rose, Johns for Mayor, [email protected]

[Re: Ralph Byrd, themail, May 17] Thank you for your inquiry. DCTV is
the Public Access Corporation of the District of Columbia, a 501(c)(3)
nonprofit organization established to provide a First Amendment forum
via cable channels, on a nondiscriminatory basis to residents and
organizations of the District. The Hatch Act addresses political
activity by federal government employees, and by employees of certain
state and local government agencies. DCTV is not to be confused with the
government cable channels 13 and 16; it is not a government agency, and
has no federal, state, or local government employees. Programming on
DCTV is produced and provided by its members, and is open to any DC
resident or organization, including political candidates. The nonprofit
was specifically established to ensure District residents a means to
share their own views on issues, to educate and inform, for cultural
expression and to engage and energize public dialogue in a broad based
forum. All members’ activities using the facilities and resources of
this forum, including political candidates, are governed by rules
ensuring nondiscriminatory access.

Marie Johns has chosen to use this community forum to provide
in-depth and easily accessible information to voters about her views and
approach to leadership. She believes that well-informed voters are the
core of strong communities, democracy and government integrity. Other
candidates who have themselves initiated or been guests in this forum to
inform voters about their candidate platforms, in past and current
elections, include Mayor Anthony Williams, Councilmembers Linda Cropp,
Vincent Orange, Adrian Fenty, Kwami Brown, Vincent Gray, Marion Barry,
and many others.

Mrs. Johns is actively seeking out the views and concerns of people
across the city. If you have any comments or suggestions you might have
for addressing the many issues and challenges facing our city, please
E-mail [email protected].
Thank you for your interest. We hope you will consider voting for Mrs.
Johns to lead our city.

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CLASSIFIEDS — EVENTS

Ward 5 Dems Council Chairman and At-Large
Council Candidates Forum, May 22

Hazel Thomas, [email protected]

The Ward 5 Democrats organization will host a Ward 5 Forum for
Council Chairman and Councilmember-at- Large candidates on Monday, May
22, from 7:30 to 9:00 p.m., at McKinley Technical School located at 151
T Street, NE. The program will begin with a brief Ward 5 Democrats
meeting and conclude with announcements about upcoming economic
development and community projects.

Councilmembers Vincent Gray and Kathy Patterson, candidates for
council chairman, have confirmed their attendance. Candidates for
councilmember-at-large, attorney A. Scott Bolden and Councilmember Phil
Mendelson, have also confirmed their intention to be present. Each of
the candidates will be given five minutes to make an opening statement,
followed by strategic questions from Tom Sherwood, NBC Channel 4 News
reporter. Questions from the audience will follow. The forum will
conclude with a two-minute statement from each candidate.

This is the third in a series of candidate forums hosted by the Ward
5 Democrats. For more information about the Ward 5 Democrats’ Forum,
contact Anita Bonds, chair of the Ward 5 Democrats, at 492-1199, or
Hazel Bland Thomas, press officer, at 491-4295.

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Ward 2 Dems Forum 2020, May 23

Wayne Dickson, [email protected]

James Carroll will be the guest author at Forum 2020 presenting his
latest blockbuster, House of War: The Pentagon and the Disastrous
Rise of American Power, on May 23 at the Woman’s National
Democratic Club, New Hampshire at Q Street, NW. The reception starts at
6:30 p.m. The program begins at 7:00 p.m.

House of War is a landmark, myth-shattering work that chronicles
the most powerful institution in America, the Pentagon, the people who
created it, and the pathologies it has spawned. Carroll proves a
controversial thesis: The Pentagon has, since its founding, operated
beyond the control of any force in government or society. It is the
biggest, loosest cannon in American history, and no institution has
changed this country more. To argue his case, he marshals a trove of
often chilling evidence. He recounts how the Pentagon and its denizens
achieved what Eisenhower called “a disastrous rise of misplaced
power” from the unprecedented aerial bombing of Germany and Japan
during WWII to the “shock and awe” of Iraq. He charts the colossal
US nuclear buildup, which far outpaced that of the USSR and has outlived
it. He reveals how consistently the Pentagon has found new enemies just
as old threats — and funding — evaporate. He demonstrates how
Pentagon policy brought about US indifference to an epidemic of genocide
during the 1990s.

Following Carroll’s presentation of his new book there will be a
question and answer period followed by a book signing.

###############

DCRA Ward 8 Community Day, May 24

Karyn-Siobhan Robinson, [email protected]

On Wednesday, May 24, the Department of Consumer and Regulatory
Affairs (DCRA) brings its staff to Ward 8 for an evening of community
outreach, education, and fun. DCRA and community partner Simon
Elementary School will welcome on-air staff from WPGC 95.5 FM, DC
councilmembers, and ANC commissioners. DCRA staff will be on-hand to
meet the community and get feedback about agency services. There will be
representatives from the Neighborhood Stabilization Program and the DCRA
Homeowners Center, as well as inspectors from the agency’s illegal
construction team, the Tenant Advocate, and more. Business owners will
be able to get information about DCRA’s Basic Business License.
Members of the DCRA human resource team will provide information about
employment opportunities within the agency.

DCRA staff and officers from the Metropolitan Police Department’s
Seventh District will participate in a baseball game with WPGC on-air
personalities and staff. The event will be held at Simon Elementary
School, 401 Mississippi Avenue, SE, 5:30-8 p.m. The baseball game begins
at 6:05 p.m.

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James Reston, Jr., at Cleveland Park Branch,
June 1

Beth Meyer, [email protected]

James Reston, Jr., author of Fragile Innocence: A Father’s
Memoir of His Daughter’s Courageous Journey, will give a lecture
"On Writing an Intimate Memoir" on Thursday, June 1, at 6:30
p.m. in the first floor auditorium of the Cleveland Park Branch of the
DC Public Library, Connecticut Avenue and Macomb Street, NW. A book sale
and signing of Fragile Innocence courtesy of the Trover Shop will
follow.

Mr. Reston tells the story of how his youngest daughter Hillary was
struck at the age of eighteen months with a unknown force that robbed
her of her language and sent her into a cycle of medical difficulties
including brain storms, seizures, and kidney failure. Mr. Reston and his
wife had to tackle some of the biggest scientific issues of our
time — human genome, animal organ transplants, and stem cell research
— in an attempt to save Hillary’s life. Hillary is now
twenty-four-years old and her condition remains a mystery. Her story is
about coming to terms with a severe disability and celebrating life.

Mr. Reston is the author of thirteen books, including Galileo: A
Life, The Last Apocalypse, and Warriors of God, three plays,
and numerous articles in national magazines. The Cleveland Park Branch
of the DC Public Library is located near the Cleveland Park Metrorail
Station. All District of Columbia Public Library activities are open to
the public free of charge. For further information, please call the
Cleveland Park Branch Library at 282-3080.

###############

DC Disability Community Mayoral Forum, June 15

T.J. Sutcliffe, [email protected]

Please save the date and help spread the word about the upcoming DC
Disability Community mayoral forum, sponsored by the Disability Rights
Host Committee. The forum will be held on Thursday, June 15, at the True
Reformer Building, 1200 U Street, NW. The doors will open at 6:00 p.m.;
the forum will start promptly at 6:30 p.m. And run to 8:00 p.m. Jerry
Phillips, radio host for Metro Talk, will moderate. This will be the
only mayoral forum to focus exclusively on issues that impact District
residents with disabilities. All are welcome.

The True Reformer Building is a fully accessible location. Sign
language interpretation will be provided. Please submit additional
accommodation requests by 5:00 p.m. on Thursday, June 8. For
information, flyers, or accommodations, contact: T.J. Sutcliffe, 636-2963/[email protected],
or Wanda Foster, 483-3383/[email protected].

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CLASSIFIEDS — SERVICES

Yolanda the Cleaning Lady

Bryce Suderow, [email protected]

Yolanda the Cleaning Lady vacuums, does laundry, and washes windows,
floors, bathrooms, and kitchens — and even takes out the trash!

If you are interested, E-mail her at [email protected]
or phone her at 676-9088.

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