Fifth and Oh

The ANC Curse Continues

2009-01-09T08:25:00.000-08:00

I wasn’t feeling well, so I missed the ANC meeting Wednesday night, naively thinking that a new era of civility and cooperation had begun. So it was with great dismay that the next morning I found the Shaw list serve full of angry posts about the re-election (by deadlock) of Doris Brooks as ANC chair. Since I wasn’t there, I’m basically relying on Si’s account of the meeting; I’ve always found her to be a fair and accurate reporter.

I have to add my voice to those who think reinstating Doris was a bad idea. I agree with Si that Doris has shown herself to be incompetent and that she has no idea how to run a meeting or an organization. After all, that was the ostensible justification for Leroy Thorpe being her “parliamentarian” and “executive assistant”.

I don’t know why Theresa did what she did. (I spoke to her briefly last night, but didn’t have a chance to question her about this.) Perhaps Alex assumed he had an entitlement to becoming the Chair, having suffered through years of abuse during the Thorpe regime, and maybe she took umbrage at what appeared to be a display of arrogance. It doesn’t make sense to me, but she undoubtedly had her reasons.

Leroy must be having a good laugh right now, and who could blame him?

Still, I think everyone needs to calm down and take a deep breath. I’m glad a couple of people like Jeff Wellbaum have taken a conciliatory approach. This isn’t the end of the world, and the worst thing that could happen is if the new ANC dissolves into another two years of toxic antagonism.

Here’s my suggestion: Why not have the chairmanship rotate among the four commissioners? Let each one preside for, say, three months, and then pass the gavel to the next person. The European Union operates this way, why can’t ANC2C? Obviously, everyone isn’t going to have the same strengths, but no one has to be the Top Dog and no one needs to feel slighted. If one person doesn’t do such a great job…well, it’s only for a short time and then someone else has a chance.

Presumably this would require some change in the ANC by-laws, but that could be easily accomplished if the four commissioners set aside their bruised feelings and put their heads together.

I think it’s less important who is the titular chair than what the ANC decides to do. I would like to see the sort of communication innovations (like a website, maybe!) that we all have discussed. We could have some committees of concerned residents who want to work on certain issues (e.g., development, public safety, vacant properties, etc.) and maybe do some of the preliminary work on issues that come before the ANC so that everything doesn’t fall on the four commissioners.

There’s still a chance to make this work. Let’s not blow it!

Questions About DC Voting Rolls

2008-11-06T15:41:00.000-08:00

I was just reading about the growing controversy about voting irregularities in Alaska, stemming from the extraordinarily low number of counted votes in Tuesday's election. See here and here.

This made me curious about the numbers here in DC and I started looking at the figures. They're pretty interesting.

According to the DCBOEE, there were 426,761 registered voters in DC for the 2008 election. That seemed like a lot, given the population of the District, so I looked it up and in 2006 (the latest official estimate I found), there were 474,895 residents in DC aged 18 or over. That means that 89.9 percent of all residents old enough to vote were registered, which struck me as a very high number. (It also means that only 52% of registered voters actually cast ballots in this election, which I find surprisingly low.)

But those 474K residents also include a large number of foreigners who can't (legally) vote, as well as a big population of people who come to live and work in DC but keep their voter registration in their home states, plus people who have other impediments to voting. I don't know how many people that would be, but I'm guessing that if they were subtracted from the 18+ population, it would make voter registration close to or maybe even over 100%.

So just for comparison, I looked at the analogous statistics for Maryland, and it turns out that for the state of Maryland, only 73.6 percent of residents 18 and over were registered to vote this year. That's a pretty big difference.

There has been plenty of anecdotal evidence that DC voting rolls continue to list lots of people who are no longer resident here or who are dead, and the system (if you can call it that) for purging such people from the rolls are inadequate, to be polite. I think these aggregate numbers tend to support this.

It has become very clear that there are serious problems with the voting systems throughout the country. We saw that at work here during the September primaries, and it's not evident that there has been any serious effort to resolve these questions. If you can't trust the elections, it strikes at the very basis of democracy.

We tend not to think about such things between elections, but maybe this is something we should press our elected officials on before the next one.

Just sayin'....

A Great Night!

2008-11-04T22:12:00.000-08:00

I've had an Obama sticker on my car for 2 years because I was convinced the first time that I heard him speak that he was someone truly extraordinary. The campaign he waged to win office was honorable and even-tempered despite the nastiness and outright lies thrown his way by his opponents. I believe and fervently hope that he will be able to fulfill his promise as president and that, as Colin Powell put it, he will be a transformational figure in American history. So yes, I'm excited and grateful that he will have that chance.

Regarding our ANC, I see new hope for that as well. What I believe are the final tallies are posted here and here. So it looks like it will be Padro, Chapple, Sule, and Brooks. Congratulations to all the winners.

This should break the logjam that has prevented ANC2C from becoming something much more than it is today. Theresa Sule brings a new approach and energy, and I'm delighted that she will now bring her talents to the ANC. I hope that Ms. Brooks will become a constructive player in the new commission. There's a lot that can be done there.

Voting Day

2008-11-04T07:38:00.000-08:00

Got to our precinct voting location (Shiloh) a bit before opening, and lines were already around the block onto Q Street. It took a little over an hour to cast the ballot--not bad, considering the crowd. Looks like most people were opting for paper ballots (good idea!), but even so those seemed to be moving faster than the electronic voting machines. So far, it looks like the election officials are doing a good job.

Went back by there a little after 10:00 a.m., and there was no line outside the building. So if you haven't voted yet, looks like mid-day would be a good time to do it. There will probably be another rush after working hours later.

Now to find something constructive to do with my anxiety over the pending results.

Another Local Election to Think About

2008-11-03T12:15:00.000-08:00

I've already spouted off about the ANC2C races, but there's another local election that deserves some attention too--maybe more.

That's the one for DC council member at large. You get to vote for two candidates for this race. Kwame Brown is probably a lock. But the other one isn't. There are six candidates on the ballot, but basically, it's between Michael Brown, Patrick Mara (the Republican who upset Carol Schwartz in the primary), and Carol Schwartz (running as a write-in).

Mari of In Shaw has already weighed in about Michael Brown and why she can't stand him, and she makes a good case. Then there was a very interesting article by Colbert King in the WaPo a couple of days ago, that really lays out what's at stake here.

I think the biggest thing is that Michael Brown will likely try to sabotage Michelle Rhee's program to reform the DC public schools. I don't know if Rhee will succeed, but finally there's someone with the vision and drive to make real changes, and if this chance is lost then it's probably beyond fixing.

Then there's the fact that M. Brown is endorsed by Marion Barry, which alone is enough to vote against him in my book.

So now I'm trying to overcome my gag response and vote for a Republican--just having a hard time deciding between Mara (endorsed by the Post) and Carol.

Okay, one more time on the ANC:

Please vote for Alexander Padro (ANC2C01), Kevin Chapple (ANC2C02), Jessica Lanza (ANC2C03), or Theresa Sule (ANC2C04). If you want to know why I think this way, look here.

Canvassing for Obama in the Burbs

2008-11-03T11:45:00.000-08:00

Yesterday evening I volunteered to canvas voters for the Democratic party out in Virginia--a new experience for me.

First, I gotta say that the Obama people definitely have their act together. The organization was nothing short of phenomenal; if Obama wins and they can run the country the way this campaign is being run, we'll be in good shape!

When I got to the DNC parking lot on S. Capitol, they had direction sheets ready to send volunteers to local offices in the outer ring of the VA burbs, normally Republican territory. I got Ashburn in Loudoun County--out beyond Dulles Airport. This is the land of McMansions (the kind with brick facades on the front and vinyl siding on the rest of the house) and long commutes.

The local Democratic office in a very anonymous-looking office park had the packets ready with the names and addresses of the households we were to visit. The detailed info on the sheets was amazing. The addresses had already been visited twice, and we were only going to the ones where there had been no one at home, or where there was support for Obama--the idea being to make sure those people get to the polls. They even had flashlights for the canvassers (it was already dark at 6 p.m.)!

I was paired with a very sharp young woman who works in Sen. Patty Murray's office, and we headed off to a subdivision about 4 miles away--one of those with curving streets and lots of cul-de-sacs. I gotta say walking around suburbia at night seems pretty creepy.

Happily, no one pulled a gun on us, and most people were surprisingly cordial. Someone came to every door we knocked on. At the first house we hit, they actually wanted to engage in conversation about the election, so we hung around for a good ten minutes. A number of the households were divided about the election, but there seemed to be pretty good support for Obama--including a number of yard signs at houses we didn't visit. We were also supposed to say stuff about Mark Warner and Judy Feder, but people really seemed focused only on the presidential race. Only one guy (at a house with a big American flag on the porch and a "no tresspassing" sign in the window) told us to beat it--wonder who he's voting for.

So I don't know if this helped the cause, but I'm glad I did it, because it feels good to have done something besides give money.

I think they're still taking volunteers, so if you're interested, you can call at 202-579-2584.

Palin on SNL

2008-10-19T06:57:00.000-07:00

Just in case you have a life and weren't home to see Sarah Palin on Saturday Night Live, I can report that she didn't do much of anything to rehabilitate her image. In fact, she didn't say or do much of anything period except to yell out the "Live from New York..." tag line.

I thought that SNL might decide to make nice with her, and pull the punches, but the odd thing was that Palin showed up to lend her presence on a show that continued to parody and ridicule her public persona. The show opened with another devastating mock press conference with Tina Fey, who I thought for a split second was the real Palin. Then during the Weekend Update segment, she had to sit silently while awkwardly pretending to be groovin' during a funny rap skit by Amy Poehler and the cast that satirized her--pretty roughly, I thought. I wonder if she knew what was happening.

Here's the video--oddly on a pro-McCain site. Second segment is here.

Now I guess she'll go back to inciting hatred among Real Americans, who apparently look like this.

Catania Bakery Robbed. Again.

2008-10-18T06:48:00.000-07:00

Part of my Saturday routine is to go by the Catania Bakery to get their fantastic fresh croissants and bread. This morning when I arrived, there were police outside and the bakery was closed. The officer outside told me that there had been a robbery. (In Shaw has a post on this as well.)

Unfortunately, this isn't the first time. They were hit a year or so ago, and a family member was assaulted, and there have been previous robberies. The Tramontes have shown amazing toughness and resilience, and I'm sure they'll bounce back, but they shouldn't have to suffer these depredations again and again. My condolences and support to Nicole and her family.

When they reopen, as I'm confident they will, I hope the neighborhood will support them by buying their pastries and bread. They're normally open for retail on Saturday morning and offer coffee for folks who just want to hang out and schmooze. The bakery is at 1404 N. Capitol Street, between O and P.

When Does This Become a Hate Crime?

2008-10-17T15:01:00.000-07:00

Seriously, folks, this is the robocall that the Republican National Committee has authorized and is being used in Virginia right now. I don't know if this sort of crap works, but the mere fact that McCain's party and campaign authorizes this kind of vicious lie is outrageous. Didn't you just love McCain's smarmy pitch in the last debate and on Letterman last night that he was really the victim of negative campaigning?

Meanwhile, Palin is referring to the "pro-America" parts of the country (guess which ones they are). So I guess the rest of us are...what...Iranians? Russians? Or, gasp, French? You can get the t-shirt here.

A bit of levity: This video is hilarious.

Addendum:

I just saw this post from which this excerpt is taken:

Over in Indiana, PA and Northern Cambria, PA, volunteers fielded complaints of a massive wave of ugly robocalls both paid for by John McCain's campaign and those paid for by third parties. The third party call was interactive, and purported to be from Barack Obama himself. The call starts out reasonably, and then "Obama" asks what the listener thinks is the most important issue. Whatever the response, "Obama" then launches into a profane and crazed tirade using "n***er" and other shock language.

I guess it's now official: McCain has no honor left.

Azi's Offers Catering

2008-10-16T10:24:00.000-07:00

I stopped by Azi's Cafe (1336 9th St at "O") for lunch today, and learned that she is now offering catering for parties, receptions, and other events.

Azi has a new catering menu of choices that include breakfast (@ $12/person), boxed lunches ($13.50-15.00/person), and a variety of her sandwiches along with salad and cookies ($15.00-17.99/person).

If you've tried her sandwiches, pastries, and coffee, you know how good they are, so keep this in mind for any upcoming events. (Election night parties maybe?) Her phone number is 202-232-0001.

And don't forget that Azi's is one of the nicest places around for a quick lunch, coffee break, or just to schmooze with friends. Like many establishments in our neighborhood, I hear that she's been struggling a bit in the current economy, so let's give her some business and keep this real asset to the neighborhood going.

Change We Need--In Shaw

2008-10-15T15:56:00.000-07:00

If you live in DC, your presidential vote may not really matter all that much, because we all know who's going to get DC's 3 electoral votes. (BTW, I'm totally in the tank for Obama, in case no one noticed.)

But if you live in Shaw or Penn Quarter, there is one election where your vote can make a huge difference, and that's for ANC commissioner. A couple of my fellow bloggers have already spoken out on this (here and here). In 2006, I never used this blog to express election preferences, but this time around I'm definitely going to add my 2 cents worth as well. (Sorry, this is probably going to be a long post.)

Let's speak plainly: The main--almost the only--issue here is Leroy Thorpe. For those who weren't around before 2006, or who may have forgotten, a brief review:

Thorpe used to run the ANC as his personal fiefdom, using his two puppets, Doris Brooks and Barbara Curtis, to give him a guaranteed majority for whatever he wanted. Long-suffering Alex Padro was the odd man out, silenced and ridiculed by Thorpe--like anyone else who dared disagree or challenge him on anything. The ANC operated as a semi-secret society; agendas weren't distributed in advance, minutes were never published, and God forbid that meetings should be recorded because that would reveal what outrageous travesties of parliamentary procedure they were. Some courageous residents defied the video recording bans, so there's plenty of video evidence out there of how it was.

Then in November 2006, Thorpe lost--very narrowly--to challenger Kevin Chapple for ANC2C02. This would leave the ANC evenly divided between Thorpe's surrogates on one side and Padro and Chapple on the other. Rather than concede gracefully, at the final ANC meeting Thorpe chaired in December, he resigned the chair in favor of Brooks, and then got himself elected as "Parliamentarian" and "executive assistant" to Brooks. This effectively meant that he would continue to run the ANC because Brooks and Curtis never made a move without being told what to do in stage whispers from Thorpe. (Further details here and here.)

So the ANC was split 2-2, but might still have been able to function, except that Brooks (clearly acting on Thorpe's instructions) continued to run the meetings in a spiteful manner, refusing to make even small concessions on minor procedural questions that might have improved the atmosphere. In 2007, she actually canceled meetings to prevent their being videorecorded, but eventually lost that battle. During the current year, there has been a slight atmospheric improvement, but this has not translated into much improved functioning of the ANC. The fact that the meetings are now mostly just sort of boring rather than the grotesque laughingstocks they used to be can be attributed largely to the replacement of Leroy Thorpe by Kevin Chapple.

In my opinion, Kevin has done everything he could possibly do to walk the walk--particularly given the situation he came into. His website, newsletter, and single member district meetings have vastly improved communications with constituents about issues affecting the neighborhood, and he has been open and respectful of other points of view. He emphatically deserves to be re-elected.

I see this choice as a kind of miniature version of the presidential election: Do you want to support a candidate with new ideas who is positive, forward-looking, and inclusive, or one who looks to the past and has been negative, mean-spirited, and divisive. I think that's the choice we have.

But what about the other ANC races? (See district map here.)

Thorpe's cat's paw, Doris Brooks (ANC2C03), has been a fixture on the ANC for decades, but still doesn't know how to run a meeting on her own. She has a strong base of support from her church, but as even Jack Evans has acknowledged--has shown little interest in the other constituents in her single member district (which stretches through Gallery Place and Penn Quarter all the way to the Capitol). The area south of Mass Avenue is full of residents--many of them new--who have never heard of her because she seems not to have heard of them. She is being challenged by Jessica Lanza, who wants to bring representation on the ANC to the forgotten constituents. For more information about her, see her website here. It's time to replace Brooks, so vote for Jessica Lanza.

Theresa Sule is running for the seat held by Barbara Curtis (ANC2C04). Curtis is a nice lady, but she has been non-entity on the ANC except to vote as directed by Leroy Thorpe. Theresa Sule, who is president of the tenants association at 1330 7th Street, has greatly impressed me with her energy, sharp intellect, and no-nonsense approach to issues. She would make a great addition to the ANC, so please vote for her!

Long-time incumbent Alex Padro (ANC2C01) should be re-elected. I don't always agree with him on everything, but he has been a rational voice for progress in Shaw and a tireless activist in promoting much-needed commercial and retail development in the area. He also is probably more knowledgeable than any of the other candidates about zoning and developmental regulation. As much as I like his perennial opponent, Mary Sutherland, on a personal level, I have yet to hear a good reason to support her over Alex, and she has been a Thorpe ally in the past. Sarah Livingston, who publishes her own Seventh Streeter newsletter, has also entered the race, but has declined opportunities to present her ideas for the ANC. Alex deserves another term.

We now have a chance to replace our pathetic dysfunctional ANC with one that could actually do some good for the community. If you wonder what a really functional ANC might look like, you need look no further than our neighbor to the west in the Logan area: ANC2F. Just take a look at their website to get an idea of the extent of their activities. Then look at ours. Oh, that's right--you can't, because we don't have one.

Philly Phans Don't ♥ Palin

2008-10-12T06:26:00.000-07:00

Sarah Palin's PR stunt to exploit her status as self-proclaimed Number One Hockey Mom seems to have backfired when fans greeted her with a chorus of boos in Philadelphia at a Flyers-Rangers game. Even dragging along one of her spawn with her to drop the puck didn't protect her.

Philadelphia fans are notorious boors, but this is one instance when I'm grateful.

Hit Chick

2008-10-07T08:16:00.000-07:00

From the Dana Milbank column in today's WaPo: "Now it turns out, one of his earliest supporters is a man named Bill Ayers," Palin said. "Boooo!" said the crowd. "And, according to the New York Times, he was a domestic terrorist and part of a group that, quote, 'launched a campaign of bombings that would target the Pentagon and our U.S. Capitol,'" she continued. "Boooo!" the crowd repeated.

"Kill him!" proposed one man in the audience.

It doesn't take a genius to read the message here. This has been an undercurrent throughout the campaign--the Obama-is-a-Muslim lie, the emphasis on his middle name, McCain's ominously suggestive refrain of "who's the real Obama?", the not-so-subtle appeal to residual racism especially among working class Democrats. This is the end-game of the Atwater/Rove strategy of appealing to the primitive reptilian brain in the American voter.

But it took Sarah Palin to make the "Obama=terrorist" charge explicit. Look at the syntax in the quote: Who is the antecedent of "he"? Even allowing for Palin's minimal command of English, the ambiguity can't be inadvertent--not that the grammar really matters to the casual listener. This goes way beyond Willie Horton and is utterly despicable.

I hesitate even to articulate this thought, but my greatest fear is not that many voters will fall for the distraction (so far, the polls suggest that they aren't buying it). Rather, I fear that some racist nut job will hear this as coded approval to physically attack Obama, now that he's been officially branded by the Republican candidates as an Enemy of America. McCain and Palin are literally playing with fire here.

If this seems paranoid, just take a look at this photograph taken at a Palin rally. If that doesn't scare you,....

El Loco: La historia verdadera

2008-10-06T18:18:00.000-07:00

This Rolling Stone article, "The Make-Believe Maverick", is long, but definitely worth the time to read. It has a lot of detail that I was unaware of and makes it very evident both that McCain's "straight-talking maverick" image is largely a fictional creation worthy of a Hollywood studio and that the erratic behavior he has shown lately is nothing new.

This is important stuff. Please urge everyone you know to read it.

Where are They Keeping El Loco?

2008-10-05T11:08:00.000-07:00

Is the presidential race now really between Obama and Palin? Am I wrong, or has McCain just sort of disappeared over the last week? And what happened to all the McCain TV attack ads in the DC market? Have they given up on Virginia like they did on Michigan?

I had a chance this morning to read all the newspapers placed before me (WaPo and NYT--I can name them), and was struck by the amount of chatter about Divine Sarah and the absence of much of anything about El Loco. The past week has shown conclusively that the Consumate Maverick can't exercise leadership over his own party any more than the unspeakable Dubya can. Even with both of their support and truckloads of lard, they still couldn't get even a bare majority of Republicans in the House to support the bailout bill. What does that say?

Meanwhile, Palin is all over the place. The weird inversion is that the McCain campaign has gone over big time for the very thing that they blasted Obama for: i.e., using celebrity to sell their candidate. Never mind that much of the publicity is in the form of well-deserved ridicule. Never mind that what Palin says is a bizarre mixture of lies and buzzword-laden gibberish. (Just read the transcript and see if you can find an actual thought there.) Never mind that she has not yet shown that she knows anything about anything. She gets the eyeballs on TV and that's all that matters at this point. Even supposedly veteran pundits like David Broder are talking about how "Palin did just fine" and terming the VP debate "uplifting". Huh???? Ironically, it seems that nearly everyone except TV satirists has abandoned all critical faculties in favor of an American Idol value system.

Palin acts as if she believes she is indeed running for president--which she may well be. Here she is running for commander-in-chief with a resume that consists basically of a six-year term as mayor of a town the size of La Plata, Maryland and being a rookie governor of a state with the population of Baltimore city (in its now-shrunken state). But more important, even in a format that allowed her to regurgitate prepared spoon-fed gobbets of text, she has been unable to articulate a single policy on anything. (Yeah, we know she just loves Israel.) But, as Paris Hilton would say, she's HOT.

I'm not sure if the American public is really buying it, however. With the polls showing solidifying support for Obama, the El Loco's only option is to go for Big Lies and character assassination. The Palin/McCain campaign has already shown that it has no problem with that, so get ready for things to get really ugly for the next month.

Oh, BTW, the Maverick family wants its name back. See here.

Palin Fading in...Alaska???!!!

2008-10-04T19:56:00.000-07:00

Where's the love? We keep hearing that Sarah Palin is the queen of the hop in Alaska, but I'm starting to wonder. Take a look at these terrific blogs on local Alaskan politics: Mudflats and Girl from Homer. Sounds like the Palin rallies in Anchorage, by far the state's largest city, are falling flat and that there's growing resentment at the McCain campaign's meddling in local affairs and trying to stifle the Troopergate investigation.

Maybe it's too much to dream that AK could go blue (except maybe from the cold), but it gives a ray of hope that not everyone is dazzled by the winks and you-betchas.

With a Wink and a Lie

2008-10-03T09:39:00.000-07:00

For a horrible moment there, I thought she was going to breastfeed the baby--you know, to really connect with the Hockey Moms out there and maybe give Joe Sixpack a little peek. Sarah Palin's beauty pageant training really came through last night. The wave, the winning smiles, the cutesy winks, the "gosh-darns" and "by-gollys" and "you betchas", the shout-out to the 3rd grade class or whatever it was, and--most of all--the non-stop fact-free verbiage. She really is made for TV--one of those daytime shows with female hosts whose sole purpose is to fill up time with meaningless chatter that no one will remember 30 minutes later. Kathie Lee, Kelly Ripa, Sarah Palin...the career path is wide open if the politics thing doesn't work out.

Of course, she never bothered to answer any of those pesky questions posed by the irrelevant Gwen Ifill, who apparently was so cowed by the GOP's preemptive attack-the-moderator campaign that she couldn't muster the courage to steer Palin (and, to be fair, a few times Biden as well) back to the subject. So there was nothing to prevent Palin from delivering her memorized setpieces of bumpersticker slogans. Or to shamelessly repeat the GOP attack ad falsehoods designed to convince the heartland that Obama is really a crypto-Muslim terrorist who wants to starve Our Troops In Eye-Rack and tax Struggling Families into poverty. Never mind that Biden refuted the charges, goshdarnit, Sarah came right back to repeat her lies in that adorable squeaky cheerleader voice without batting an eye.

And OMG, enough with the "maverick" thing! One of the problems with mavericks (BTW, I'm from Texas, where the term originated) is that you never know what the hell they're going to do, which is why they make good copy but poor leaders. McCain's erratic behavior lately--apparently trying to re-establish his fading maverick cred--demonstrates this pretty well.

But (to use Palin's mantra) let's get back to energy... I'm still waiting to hear about Palin's vaunted energy expertise. From what I can tell it consists of getting herself elected governor of a state that produces oil that is delivered through a pipeline built decades earlier and which subsidizes the state government through a deal established before she was elected. Remember, folks, Dubya was not only governor of Texas (a bigger oil and gas producer), but he actually had his own oil company (which never made any money), so he had even better claims to being an "expert". You can see how well that's worked out for the country. Most of us here in the Lower 48, as they say, have no notion about what goes on in Alaskan politics, so the tendency is to accept the authorized GOP version, but for an alternative view, just check out these sites here and here.

I was relieved to see that polls among uncommitted voters show most didn't buy Palin's act. Move over, Bonnie Hunt!

Holding Your Nose

2008-10-01T10:21:00.000-07:00

Michael Sendar appeared last night at the CCCA meeting to make his pitch for a zoning variance for his notorious derelict property (see posts below). He claimed that he has wanted to develop the property but was stymied by its R4 zoning status. Interestingly, he did confirm that a couple of years ago he did have an offer to buy from respected residential developer Jim Abdo, but said that Abdo's offer was about $200K below the amount reported (that would probably put the offer above $600K, which would likely have netted Sendar a profit of at least $400K). He admits that he's not interested in developing the property now and just wants to sell it; currently his asking price is about $950K (if I recall correctly).

He asked for input about the idea of having a small food store there which could also sell alcoholic beverages. The reaction of residents present was uniformly negative, noting that there were already plenty of such businesses in the area and that they tended to be magnets for other problems. He claims to be willing, however, to accept a restriction on the zoning variance that would exclude off-premises sale of alcohol.

Here's the issue, as I see it:

Morally, Sendar doesn't have a leg to stand on. He knew the property was R4 when he bought it. He could have sold it at substantial gain to someone willing to develop it as a residential property. He has allowed the property to deteriorate to the point that it is currently uninhabitable. He has gamed the system to avoid paying the vacant property taxes that he probably should have, if the DC government wasn't so shiftless and negligent about enforcing its tax laws.
Still, he will profit if he gets the variance, because that makes the property more valuable to a potential buyer. Sendar isn't the devil, but he has taken advantage of a complaisant and corrupt system, and he has shown no concern whatever for the consequences of his actions or inactions for the neighborhood.

BUT, if he doesn't get the variance and hangs on to the property, it will continue to be a festering drag on the neighborhood, because it's clear nothing will happen there.

So, even though it makes me gag, I think the variance should probably be supported with requisite prohibitions against off-premises alcohol sales.

Sometimes you just have to accept unpalatable choices to get some improvement on a bad situation. That applies to the financial bailout Congress is considering, and I think it applies here as well.

Sendar is supposed to appear at tonight's ANC meeting. I don't know what the other two commissioners think about it, but it seems that Alex Padro and Kevin Chapple have reached the same conclusion to hold their nose and support the variance.

I wouldn't mind seeing Sendar have to squirm a little, though.

Sendar to Appear at CCCA Meeting on Tuesday

2008-09-29T13:25:00.000-07:00

Among the agenda items on the Convention Center Community Association (CCCA) meeting tomorrow, is derelict property owner Michael Sendar, who will report on his plans to develop his "Slum Historique" property at Rhode Island, 9th, and Q. He is, of course, seeking approval for a zoning variance to upgrade the property from residential to commercial. Should be interesting to hear.

Nominations will also be made for CCCA officers for the coming year (with the election to take place in October).

The meeting takes place at 7:00 p.m., Tuesday, Sept. 30 at the Kennedy Rec Center. Let's make it a good crowd.

Burning Down the House

2008-09-29T12:56:00.000-07:00

Oooowhee! Totally mesmerized by the failure of the bailout and watching the stock market drop like a rock. Haven't seen anything like this since the crash during Dubya's first term--scared even to look at what's happened to my retirement investments.

Let's see: Apparently, the American People are Mad as Hell and Not Going to Take it Any More, so they hate the bailout, even though pretty much everyone who actually knows anything about economics and financial markets says that failure to approve it will mean further foreclosures, bank failures, no credit availability, job loss--in short, a bad recession. But Average Joe either doesn't care or--more likely--doesn't even know what the consequences will be. He's just plain pissed.

Therefore, nearly everyone in Congress regards the bailout as poison Kool-Aid, with the Democrats saying we'll take ours if you'll take yours. So most of the Democrats dutifully down their dose, but 2/3 of the Republicans say "Ha-ha, fooled you, suckers," and pour theirs down the drain. Then they blame Nancy Pelosi for hurting their feelings, insisting they really would have voted for the bill if she hadn't been so mean.

Meanwhile, Bush is revealed as a dead, not lame, duck, and El Loco McCain, who claimed to have rescued the bill from defeat (which, of course, was total nonsense) just looks foolish. As of this posting, he has had nothing to say about the House vote. From my standpoint, that's the only silver lining in this very dark cloud.

I think it was Mencken who said, "no one ever went broke by underestimating the intelligence of the American people," but I think Mencken may be proved wrong in a way, when we all go broke.

Fun Pix

2008-09-28T17:56:00.001-07:00

Fratboy cut-ups Dubya and Vladimir getting ready to give that Asian guy a wedgie.

"As Putin rears his head and comes into the air space of the United States of America, where do they go? It's Alaska!" Sarah Palin in interview with Katie Couric.

"Seventh Streeter" Blasts Everybody

2008-09-27T10:57:00.000-07:00

Sarah Livingston, who writes and distributes her own neighborhood publication The Seventh Streeter, has just published a new issue in which she denounces all of the current ANC commissioners and announces her own candidacy for the ANC2C01 seat currently held by Alex Padro. I won't attempt to repeat all of her rather complicated argument (here's the link if you want to read it for yourself), but I think it's worth addressing some of the allegations and points she raises.

Her article centers around the recent Board of Zoning Adjustment (BZA) hearing regarding the property at Rhode Island, 9th, and Q for which the owner, Michael Sendar, is petitioning for a zoning variance to allow commercial use. (It is currently zoned R4 residential.) Links to other discussion of the issue can be found in my post "Rewarding Bad Behavior" earlier this month. She chastizes Padro for supporting the petition as a single member of the ANC rather than bringing it to the whole ANC, but further alleges that he is furthering his own private interests rather than those of the public.

Comment: Personally, I think supporting the Sendar petition is wrong, particularly given his total neglect of the property and utter disregard for the neighborhood. Sendar has also somehow managed to avoid paying the vacant property tax even though the property has been empty and rotting away since 2001. Granting him the variance would be essentially rewarding him for bad behavior, because it enhances the value of the property if he tries to sell it, which he claims to be doing. I believe Alex's argument is that it would be better to have a functioning business in the property than for it to remain empty, which would be reasonable except for the fact that variances are normally granted for specific purposes, while Sendar is apparently seeking a non-specific variance. As I understand it, the immediate neighbors--particularly Ray Milefsky--are not unalterably opposed to any business use, but rather want guarantees that whatever goes in there will be something that contributes to improvement of the neighborhood rather than some obnoxious nuisance enterprise. As for the dark hints of personal gain (I guess that's what she means), I'd like to see something to back them up.

She then goes on to allege that there is a "tiny cabal" of people who "are seeking to make all the decisions about the neighborhood's future and their modus operandi is to take advantage of the ANC's dysfunction to further their aims." As evidence, she claims that Padro and fellow commissioner Kevin Chapple have deliberately failed to overcome the ANC's dysfunction in order to promote their own communications with constituents via Chapple's website and SMD publication and criticizes them for acting independently of the ANC as a whole.

Comment: This stikes me as bizarre. And, who exactly is the "tiny cabal?" No argument here as to the ANC's notorious dysfunction, but to criticize Kevin and Alex for seeking to circumvent Leroy Thorpe's continued throttlehold on the ANC is ludicrous and most unfair. If anyone has taken advantage of the ANC's dysfunction, it's Thorpe, who is its primary cause. When Thorpe was the actual ANC chair (as opposed to its unelected defacto boss, operating through his two puppets, which he is now), the ANC had no communications whatever. It had (and still has) no website, minutes were never published, and the agenda wasn't distributed in advance, anyone who questioned Thorpe's edicts was silenced. Thorpe and his allies have continued to oppose openness--going so far as to shut down meetings rather than allow them to be recorded. The "leadership" of Chair Doris Brooks, who does nothing without Thorpe whispering--literally--in her ear, has been spiteful and obstructionist, rejecting any attempt to bridge the gap. I and, I think, most people regard Kevin's newletter and website as a great resource, and if he needs to sell ads to help pay the costs of the newsletter (remember he is not paid to be on the ANC and the newsletter doesn't get published for free), so what? His website has welcomed opposing--even hostile--viewpoints, and it posts information about all manner of issues and events of interest to the neighborhood residents. Kevin's SMD meetings have been a model of what ANC meetings should be, and the reason he holds them is because the actual ANC meetings--if they're even held--have created a toxic atmosphere that tends to stifle exchange of views and information.

Livingston then claims that "members of the cabal provoked matters in Shaw's traditional civic association as a springboard for splitting from that body and setting up a separate association which Martin Moulton is now the president of and which recently hosted a candidate's forum in Shaw for candidates from all SMDs in the ANC2C area."

Comment: For those who don't know or may have forgotten, the "traditional civic association" is the East Central Civic Association (ECCA). Following his defeat in the 2006 ANC election, Leroy Thorpe seized control of the ECCA in December 2006 in an unscheduled and illegitimate "election" over which he personally presided, ousting then-president Betty Newell, who was clearly stunned and humiliated by his surprise move. He then proceeded to run the ECCA, just as he had run the ANC, as his personal fiefdom rather than the public neighborhood group it had purported to be. He ejected Martin Moulton and another neighborhood resident who had supported Kevin Chapple on the ANC election (and who live on the same block where the ECCA meetings are held) simply for attending and attempting to record the proceedings of a supposedly public meeting. He went so far as to obtain a police ban on their presence in the church where the meetings take place.

In light of these actions and Thorpe's continued obstructionism in the ANC as its "Parliamentarian" and "Executive Assistant" to the titular chair, a number of neighborhood residents--myself included--decided to form a new association--the Convention Center Community Association (CCCA)--which is still in the organizational stage. I believe anyone who has attended the CCCA meetings will attest to the fact that--in contrast to the ECCA--it is a open and democratic organization which is not designed to further the personal ambitions of any individual.

The CCCA did, in fact, host a well-attended candidates forum on September 18, to which all ANC2C candidates--including Sarah Livingston--and Ward 2 council candidates were invited. I'm at a loss to understand why Ms. Livingston thinks this was a bad thing. Jack Evans and his Republican opponent Christina Culver participated, as did ANC incumbents Chapple and Padro and challengers Jessica Lanza and Theresa Sule. Neither Ms. Livingston nor any of the other ANC candidates showed up. If she had wanted to present her ideas about what's wrong with the ANC and what she proposed to do about it, this would have been a perfect opportunity.

As much as I admire Sarah Livingston's civic activism and commitment to improving the neighborhood, I think her current publication does a disservice to several people who are at least equally committed to making Shaw a better place.

El Loco Rides into Town, Guns Blazing

2008-09-26T08:51:00.000-07:00

I admit it: I'm totally transfixed by the utter lunacy that has seized our country's political and financial spheres. So, where are we now...?

John McCain seems to have come unhinged. Here's a man who based his entire campaign on his claim to superior experience and judgment. So what does he do? He picks Britney's Mom as his vice-presidential running mate, then realizes that she seems like an absolute dingbat whenever she opens her mouth, so puts her in a bag to shut her up, but she still sticks her head out once in a while to utter something incoherent and preposterous. Then comes the financial melt down, about which he has no clue. First he says things are really fine, but when it becomes obvious they're not, he says the situation is so bad that he must suspend his campaign to go Save the Country. So he doesn't really suspend his campaign, but threatens no-show at the presidential debate and then ditches Letterman because he has to fly to Washington immediately to Save the Country. But he doesn't actually fly to Washington, but rather goes across Manhattan to do an interview with Katie Couric, who has just taped an interview with Britney's Mom revealing her once again to be more suitable for a "Jaywalking" segment on Leno than national office.

The next morning, Obama proposes that they both issue a joint statement of principles for solving the financial crisis to try to calm things down, but Crazy John won't take the call. Instead he issues his own sky-is-falling announcement and says he will fly to Washington to Take Charge of the congressional negotiations on the bail-out and Save the Country. Meanwhile, the congressional negotiations had been going pretty well because people who actually knew shit were dealing with the issues, and they had reshaped the Paulson give-me-all-your-money-or-you-die plan into something close to a plan that might actually work. But then Dubya (remember him?), in a last ditch effort to seem like a real president, summons everyone to the White House.

They all show up, but then everything goes to hell, because the white trash wing of the Republican party decides to rebel against their own administration and the president-whose-name-cannot-be-spoken by coming up with their own apeshit proposal because, by God, they ain't going to give no money to them arugula-munching Wall Street types who got us into this mess. Folks, this is more or less the equivalent of a ghetto riot where people decide to get even with the people who have been screwing them by burning down their own neighborhood.

And where is Crazy John on all this? We don't know.

Just in case you're wondering about the new Republican proposal, here are a couple of its key points that really caught my eye:
--Insure all mortgage-backed securities with a Treasury-designed system charging the holders of these (largely junk) assets premiums to finance the system, rather than using tax dollars.
--"Draw private capital into the market by removing regulatory and tax barriers...currently blocking private capital formation."
(The whole thing was in today's NYT.)

Huh? Let's see if I got this straight... The financial institutions that are foundering because they're holding billions in junk mortgage securities would save themselves by pouring money into an yet non-existent self-financing insurance company?? But these companies don't have enough capital to stay afloat as it is (which is the basic problem), so where would the premium money come from? But the second idea about "removing regulatory and tax barriers" is what really got me. Isn't that really what caused this crisis in the first place? Jesus wept.

Can't wait to see if El Loco shows up for the debate tonight.

Palin Watch, 9/25/08

2008-09-25T17:14:00.000-07:00

In case you thought those first cringe-inducing encounters with actual journalists were just flukes,...oh, what the hell. Just go to Wonkette for the Divine Sarah's latest utterances of random words in all their excruciating awfulness. (Keep scrolling down, because there are several posts--all totally worthwhile.)

OMG, is it possible she's really this stupid? Check out Couric's face while Palin is babbling. She can't friggin' believe it!

Palin Watch, 9/24/08

2008-09-24T15:51:00.000-07:00

Whoa, check out the Divine Sarah's response to a really, really hard question from Katie Couric here. She wasn't runner up Miss Alaska for nothing!

Here's the transcript of another snippet.

Well, maybe Katie was being a mean girl.

Rewarding Bad Behavior

2008-09-24T11:54:00.000-07:00

"In the District, officials haved identified a $131 million revenue shortfall, which will force the city to cut funding for programs in the fiscal year that begins next month." Washington Post, 9/24/08

"[Harriette Walters] watched as other workers [in the DC Office of Tax and Revenue] routinely received gifts in exchange for reducing tax liability." Washington Post editorial, 9/24/08

"The White House waged a multifront campaign Tuesday to persuade Congress to accept its vast economic bailout plan, though many in Congress...continued to push for ...stronger protection for taxpayers and impose tougher terms on financial institutions." New York Times, 9/24/08

"The bottom line is that the Planning Office, BZA, Evans, and Padro (in his dual hats) is intent on rewarding Sendar with a commercial variance so he can sell at a better price." Ray Milefsky post on ShawNeighborhood listserve, 8/24/08

Is there a connection between these quotes that I just read this morning regarding issues that range from the global to the intensely local? I think there is. Please bear with me while I try to explain.

The Bush administration, having spent the past seven years gleefully dismantling the regulatory mechanisms of the financial system, is now proposing a no-strings bailout of the same institutions that created the current economic disaster, giving the Treasury Secretary absolute control over what happens with potentially $700 billion in public funds and asking for no accountability whatever for the people who ran the financial institutions being rescued. The plan, as presented to Congress, would have the federal government take over the bad debt that Wall Street is now stuck with--debt that no one, repeat no one, knows the value of. As for how much the feds would pay for it--well, they just say "trust us." The guys who are getting your and my money can then go their merry way without even a slap on the wrist.

It's as if you had bought a Bentley and didn't insure it, then smashed it into a tree and had the brass balls to ask the government to compensate you for it without their knowing the extent of the damage. Is it repairable and still worth $100K? Or is it a worthless mass of smoking metal? "Trust me," you say, "I'll tell you what it's worth." The administration plan is really the ultimate expression of the culture of non-accountability that Bush and his cronies have fostered since they've been in office.

Let's descend from the national to the local: At the CCCA candidates forum last Thursday, DC council member Jack Evans assured the audience that the District was still in good financial shape despite the current financial meltdown. Now it looks like that may not be quite true--DC is being affected like everyone else. Obviously, what happens in the national economy is not within the control of the DC government. However, the collection of revenue to fund the city's programs is very much within the DC government's control--or at least it should be.

The trouble is that the DC government does a poor job of collecting the taxes that it is owed--particularly property taxes. The reasons for this include lax leadership and oversight, a laughably chaotic and irrational tax assessment system, lazy and self-serving employees in the agencies responsible, and good old-fashioned corruption. A shortfall of $131 million isn't all that much in a multi-billion dollar DC budget, and it could probably be made up just by collecting the taxes that the District should be getting. But will that happen? No, because no one ever seems to be accountable.

The OTR tax scandal, which bilked the taxpayers of at least $48 million, is the perfect case in point. Mother Harriette may have been the evil genius in the scheme, but the fact that no one at OTR ever noticed embezzlement on such a collosal scale bespeaks gross, if not criminal, negligence on the part of those running the agency. At the CCCA forum we asked Jack Evans (who is the Chair of the Council's Committee on Finance and Revenue) what had happened with regard to the administrative investigation and accountabity within OTR. He responded that four supervisors in Walters' department had been fired and now that the criminal trial was ended, the internal investigation could go forward. Well, the scandal came to light last November and only now there's going to be a serious inquiry into practices and accountability at OTR? I don't know if CFO Gandhi deserves to be fired or not, but failing to have a thorough inquiry into this ten months later strikes me as inexplicable. It's like disciplining a couple of enlisted soldiers over Abu Ghraib while leaving the brass who allowed it to happen untouched. More non-accountability.

Perhaps more to the point, how do we know that this sort of crap isn't still going on? The press investigation of the scandal at the time suggested that virtually everyone in the office was implicated to some degree--if not by being directly on the take then by being coopted by receiving gifts or loans from Mother Harriette's ill-gotten gains--and that they knew something was wrong but never said anything. Even if their involvement didn't rise the level of criminal charges, are these people still there?

In addition to the direct embezzlement, the Post editorial indicates that there was (is?) a corrupt culture wherein employees "routinely received gifts for reducing tax liability". I suspect that this continues to this day, and it brings me to the fourth quote above, regarding the notorious Sendar property at the intersection of Rhode Island, 9th, and Q--the "slum historique."

The issue here is whether the DC zoning board will grant Sendar a commercial variance on the properties which would significantly enhance their value as he tries to sell them. The properties in question have been vacant since 2001 and a festering nuisance long before that. (For further background see here and here and here.) Basically, granting the petition would reward an owner who has kept the property a moldering ruin. Best of all, even though the property has been vacant for the last seven years and has even been on DC's vacant property list, it has escaped being taxed at the vacant property rate, representing a enormous saving for the owner and equivalent loss for the DC treasury. Could there be a connection here? Just wondering.

I could cite other examples of highly questionable tax assessments in the immediate neighborhood. Multiply that city-wide and it amounts to a lot of money. How many of these strange assessments represent favors being granted in OTR? Isn't it worth looking into, particularly at a time when the city is facing a revenue shortfall?

When Mr. Ray, who has lived next door to the Sendar property for decades, was preparing his testimony before the BZA, I suggested that he include remarks on the tax status. He said that an Office of Planning apparatchik had told him not to bring it up because "it did not pertain to zoning." Oh really?! Basically, the zoning petition is another "trust me" plea--specifically that the owner will not allow an obnoxious "business" to open up in the property. So why isn't the tax status relevant since the petition rests on the credibility of the owner?

Okay, maybe a financial bailout needs to be done. And maybe the neighborhood would be better off with commercial activity in the Sendar property. And maybe this amounts to rewarding bad behavior. But there's a question of degree here, and we certainly have a right to demand guarantees and accountability, because the record tells us that otherwise these guys are not going to do the right thing.

Jeopardy Answer: Lipstick

2008-09-20T16:11:00.000-07:00

Ever since McCain plucked Sarah Palin out of an episode of Northern Exposure (actually she sort of looks like Janine Whateverhernamewas), people have been trying to recall any similar instance of picking someone so spectacularly unqualified for Heartbeat-Away-from-Leader-of-the-Formerly-Free-World. Dan Quayle (remember him?) probably comes closest since he was apparently picked because of his golf score. But he was such a cipher twink that he really doesn't compare.

Actually, from what we can tell, Palin is much more like Bush in drag. They both come from states with false, but fervently held, belief in their specialness based on a largely ficticious myth of rugged self-reliance. (Alaska is essentially a welfare state living off of subsidies from the federal government and oil companies.) They both cultivate the image of frontier ruggedness--Palin poses in camo and (allegedly) can field dress a moose; Bush wears cowboy boots and likes to clear brush on the ranch. They share evangelical faith that they know and are implementing God's will and don't really believe in science. They share disdain for protecting the environment and reject global warming and evolution as just a "theory". They pick people for important posts because they like them, not because they're qualified. (Harriet Myers? Alberto Gonzales? Brownie?) They both came to the national stage with an abysmal ignorance of foreign affairs. Remember how Bush was all buddy-buddy with Putin because he "saw into his soul"? Palin thinks she's ready because "you can see Russia from Alaska". Most frighteningly, they both show contempt for actual knowledge as opposed to right-wing political theology.

The analogy isn't perfect, of course. Palin's background really is marginal middle class, and she bounced around several community colleges before getting runner-up as Miss Alaska and finally graduating from the University of Idaho. W's redneck cred is totally bogus, having come from old New England money and schooling at Phillips Academy, Yale, and Harvard Biz. Of course, he got into Yale as a "legacy" (affirmative action for rich white kids), and it's pretty clear that he didn't get into Harvard Biz based on his academic record or business acumen. But he obviously didn't learn anything, and his dimwittedness has been reliable fodder for Leno pretty much nightly. Then there's Palin's interviews with Charles Gibson and a couple of subsequent unscripted brushes with the press which were so excruciatingly embarrassing that I almost felt sorry for her.

Maybe the infatuation with Palin stems partially from relief that we didn't have the loathsome Joe Lieberman thrust upon us. But God help us if the Palin-McCain ticket wins, and the Certified War Hero croaks! That shrill screechy voice alone would be enough to put the TV on mute for the next four years.

By the way, apparently not everyone in Alaska thinks the Divine Sarah hung the Northern Lights. Check out this report.

Addendum: OMG, it keeps getting better. Check out the video in this post. This woman could become president, people!

A Good Night at the CCCA Candidates Forum

2008-09-19T07:51:00.000-07:00

There was a standing-room-only crowd for last night's candidates forum at the Long View Gallery sponsored by the Convention Center Community Association (CCCA). I think the consensus of those in attendance was that the format worked well--we got thoughtful answers to serious questions in an informal but respectful atmosphere. [Full disclosure: Your humble servant was one of the moderators and drafted the questions along with co-moderator Virginia Lee.]

Kudos to Martin Moulton and Charles Walker for organizing the forum and thanks to Ron Greene of Good Libations and to Veranda Restaurant and Safeway for providing a great spread of food and drink.

I had not met or even heard Christina Culver (Jack Evans' Republican challenger) previously, but she appears to be a respectable candidate with some interesting views on the issues. But she will have work very hard to overcome the depth of knowledge and extensive experience that Evans demonstrated in his responses to the questions.

Most of the time was focused on the ANC. Commissioner Mike Bernardo represented ANC2F (basically the Logan Circle area), which works well and would be a model for ANC2C to emulate if the current deadlock on the commission can be broken. Incumbents Kevin Chapple and Alex Padro as well as new candidates Theresa Sule and Jessica Lanza took part last night. None of their opponents deigned to show up, though all were invited to do so. This is a perfect example of their contempt for the community, which the basic reason that ANC2C remains such a pathetic parody. On November 4 we have a chance to change all that.

ANC and Ward 2 Candidates Forum, Thursday Night

2008-09-17T07:59:00.000-07:00

Come out to meet the candidates for our Advisory Neighborhood Commission (ANC) and Ward 2 council member in the November 4 general election at the forum sponsored by the Convention Center Community Association Thursday evening (September 18) 7-9 p.m. at the Long View Gallery, 1302 9th Street. Candidates will introduce themselves and answer questions about their plans for dealing with issues that affect all of us in the Shaw Neighborhood. Ward 2 incumbent council member Jack Evans and his Republican opponent, Christina Culver, will be there as well as at least 5 of the ANC candidates for ANC2C and ANC2F. This will be an ideal setting to get to know them in an informal setting.

If you're not familiar with the workings of the ANC, this is a chance to find out about this most basic level of the DC government, which has an important impact on what happens and doesn't happen in our neighborhood. The upcoming election will be critical in ANC2C, which covers most of Shaw east of 9th Street plus other areas extending to the Capitol, including much of the Penn Quarter/Gallery Place/Chinatown area downtown (see map here). If you have been following the issues, you know that ANC2C has been immobilized by stalemate. Two new candidates--Theresa Sule and Jessica Lanza--are challenging for the seats currently held by Barbara Curtis and Doris Brooks.

If you are not yet registered to vote in DC, you can register online at www.dcboee.org. The registration deadline to vote in the November election is October 6.

Refreshments will be provided by the Veranda Restaurant, Good Libations, and Safeway, so come on out and attend this important event!

Miracles of the "Private" Sector

2008-09-16T11:55:00.000-07:00

"The council under my leadership subsiduzed [sic] this safeway with over 10 million dollars in tax breaks. This was done to bring a first class store to the neighborhood. Ok. Let the snide comment fly." 9/13/08 e-mail from Jack Evans

Well, I'm delighted to have the new Safeway here, so there won't be any snideness from me about this. I'm probably like most residents in less-favored areas of DC who are so desperate to see positive development in our neighborhoods that we'll endorse pretty much anything to get it. A panic went through the community briefly just this morning because of word that DC council member Phil Mendelson had pulled his support for the "Tax Increment Funding Debt (TIF)" amounting to $46 million in subsidies to Roadside, the developers of the O Street Market project. We want this so bad, we don't care what it takes.

Still, the skeptic in me can't help wondering about a system where the taxpayers have to bribe private developers with public subsidies and tax breaks to induce them to build projects for the developers' profit. Are these projects intrinsically so unprofitable that they can only be workable with taxpayer subsidies? Is DC really such an undesirable market that this is the only way to get development? Do we really need to build a stadium for a losing baseball team's private investors, who then turn around and stiff us for the rent? I know the argument that such subsidies stimulate further development that more than compensates for the foregone tax revenue, but I do wonder if the reality bears out such assumptions.

Actually, the truth is that the "private sector" that the Republicans (in particular) so love to extol almost doesn't exist anymore. What we have instead is government-subsidized capitalism (a variant of what was once called National Socialism). It pervades the entire economy, from agriculture to manufacturing to construction to the huge contracting companies that have taken over government functions so extensively that the federal government can't operate without them.

Even though the Bush regime has gutted the country's regulatory system and progressive tax structure, the Republicans still aren't satisfied and continue to bitch about government regulation and taxes. But the minute it hits the fan, Bear Stearns, Freddie, Fanny, and all the rest come blubbering to Uncle Sugar to bail them out. Maybe Lehmann Bros. will prove the exception--maybe--but I'll bet some kind of parachute appears to soften the fall. (By the way, have you checked out the value of your 401k in the last couple of days? Still want to privatize social security?)

Alas, we've all sipped the Kool-Aid and there's no escaping it now. So I'll just enjoy our shiny new Safeway and hope Roadside really does replace the rotten tooth at O Street market and try not to think too much about how it all came about. Just please spare me the hypocritical right-wing cant about the wonders of the uninhibited free market place.

Hello Safeway, Goodbye Giant!

2008-09-12T13:19:00.000-07:00

I've been taking a long vacation from posting on this blog--for various reasons--but thought I might just take it up again.

It's nice to be able to pick up again on a positive note, namely the opening of the new Safeway store at City Vista at NY and 5th. I went over there around noon today and was truly wowed. What a fantastic addition to the neighborhood, and what a change from what we've been stuck with at our sadsack Giant.

I was a bit concerned that it would just be a limited store focusing on high-end "gourmet" items for non-cooking apartment dwellers, but it is anything but that. First of all, the place is HUGE! It has everything you could possibly want no matter what your tastes. The produce section is very extensive and attractive, and the deli shop and prepared food sections will be giving Whole Foods a run for their money.

Best of all, the employees seem excited and happy to be there and appear to understand the concept of customer service, unlike so many at the Giant who apparently think that giving the customers a little attitude is part of the job description. And it didn't take me 45 minutes to check out!

Let's see if Giant has an answer when the new O Street Market goes up. In the meantime, Safeway will be getting my grocery dollar.

New Community Group to Form

2008-01-08T11:46:00.000-08:00

Haven't posted anything in quite a while. I guess I felt like taking a mental holiday, and it was indeed restful and therapeutic.

But life goes on, and stuff still happens, and problems still need to be addressed. Which is why I'm hoping there will be a good turnout for an initial organizational meeting to form a new community group to deal with the issues facing our neighborhood. The meeting to form the still-unnamed association will take place on Thursday, January 10 at 6:30 p.m. at 817 Q Street NW (the home of Mr. Ray, who has generously offered his house as a venue--getting a meeting room at KRC turned out to be too complicated). Everyone is welcome.

Update: It now appears that due to the number of folks who have expressed interest, the meeting may be held outdoors at the adjacent triangular park at 9th, Q, and RI Ave. If the weather is bad, location may have to move, so stay tuned.

LATEST UPDATE: THE MEETING WILL BE AT THE KENNEDY REC CENTER, 1401 7TH STREET. SAME TIME.

So why do we need a new organization? Because we don't have one now. The Mt. Vernon Square neighborhood has a very good one, but the rest of Shaw has basically nothing. The ECCA, which allegedly covers the area, has degenerated into a personal pulpit for ex-ANC commissioner Leroy Thorpe since he hijacked it with a bogus election in December 2006. He has tried to ban neighbors who live on the same block as the church where the ECCA meetings are held, threatening to have them arrested. For an account of the latest fiasco, see here. As much as I admire and applaud Charles' and Martin's efforts to stand up for the principle of inclusion, I simply don't believe that the ECCA will ever be anything more that what it is. We need to start from scratch.

We need an effective association because our politicians and bureaucracies pay more attention to organizations than to individual citizens. Unfortunately, DC is still a patronage-driven government. You can't expect that a DC agency will do what it's supposed to do just because that's its job--political pressure needs to be brought to bear to get anything done. And we need an organization that will actually express the collective will of the neighborhood and deliver that kind of persistent pressure.

This area has been the neglected step-child for much too long, and we need an association that is not burdened with bile and baggage and is not a vehicle for personal political ambitions. It should be focused on specific issues that are of concerned to all neighbors--new and old alike--such as crime, vacant properties, city services, and education.

So show up Thursday evening and let's start something happening!

Vacant Property Meeting with Jack Evans and DCRA

2007-12-13T19:38:00.001-08:00

Si and Michele Molotsky have provided excellent summaries of today's meeting with Jack Evans and senior DCRA officers (which can be found here), so I just want to make a couple of general observations.

First, my impression had been that even though DCRA isn't where we would like it to be, it is going in the right direction. That view was definitely reinforced by the conversation today. This has been helped by changes in DC laws that have reduced the wiggle-room for scofflaw slumlords and increased the penalties for letting properties crumble.

The problem is that execution still lags well behind the regulations and strategy, and it will almost certainly take continued pressure by civic groups and individuals to keep DCRA inspectors paying attention to specific problem properties. DCRA has begun a program to have on-site inspectors walk the blocks and note the derelict properties, but that effort hasn't reached Ward 2 yet and probably won't for at least several months.

This means, effectively, that if neighborhood residents want action on these problem properties, we will have to continue giving DCRA the information to direct them to the right place. We were able to hand over a list of some 40 such properties in the non-MVSNA area of Shaw that we compiled in about a day or so with help and tips from our neighbors, but that's just the beginning. I think we need to finish the job and try to compile a more comprehensive list that will give us the basis for following up with DCRA and OTR.

Speaking of OTR, it wasn't represented at today's meeting (maybe they were all in jail?). This was unfortunate because I'm convinced that OTR is where most of the balls get dropped. DCRA now has the authority to classify a property as Class 3, which increases the tax 5-fold now, and soon 10-fold. But OTR has not been following through, which means that the primary penalty for vacant property owners doesn't get applied. For example, of the 40 properties we identified, at least 75% were on the DCRA vacant properties list, but less than half of them had had the Class 3 tax applied by OTR. There are other problems as well, including ridiculously low assessment, failure to put properties with delinquent taxes on the annual tax sale list, etc.

But regardless, I left the meeting feeling guardedly optimistic--at least about DCRA--and I want to commend and thank Jack Evans and his staff, as well as Linda Argo and Nick Majett for holding this meeting. Let's hope that we can make some headway on this problem by working together in the future.

Victory! Long Live the Queen!

2007-12-12T18:38:00.000-08:00

Alex Padro just sent out the following message:

After nearly two years operating without a liquor license, Queen of Sheba Restaurant, located at 1503 9th Street, NW, was granted a liquor license today by the Alcoholic Beverage Control Board.

Although the restaurant had strong, widespread support in the neighborhood, a handful of opponents associated with Shiloh Baptist Church attempted to block the issuance of a license for the business, despite never having opposed a license for a liquor store across the street from the church.

"I want to thank everyone in the community who supported us during this difficult time," said Embzam Msgina, one of the restaurant's owners. "This is a victory for the community. We opened the restaurant because the neighborhood wanted us to be here. Now we can finally start operating normally. Our guests can have a drink or wine with their meals, like they should have been able to do all along. We're so happy."

The two year battle for a license for the restaurant included an initial denial because the establishment was located less than 400 feet from a school (Seaton Elementary, on the 900 block of Rhode Island Avenue, NW); a legislative change that gave the ABC Board the discretion to issue licenses within 400 feet of a DCPS school, DPR recreation center, DCPL library, or DCPS operated daycare center; and a two-day protest hearing, which was concluded in September 2007.

This is an important milestone in the commercial revitalization of central Shaw. There were restaurants with liquor licenses in the area before the 1968 riots, but most closed in the years that followed. It is only now through the pioneering efforts of entrepreneurs like the Redds at Vegetate and the Msginas at Queen of Sheba that Shaw residents will once again be able to enjoy the dining options that the rest of the city takes for granted.

I want to thank the owners of Queen of Sheba for standing and fighting against difficult odds. They have had to make great sacrifices in order to remain open without a liquor license. They sold another business in order to be able to keep staff in place, pay attorney's fees, etc. The Shaw community owes this proud family a debt of gratitude for not walking away when the going got tough.

It will take several days for the license to be issued and inventory to be ordered and delivered, and for staff to be trained, but Queen of Sheba should be able to begin serving alcoholic beverages next week. Be sure to stop by and congratulate the Queen of Sheba team and enjoy a beverage with your meal there for the first time, and many times to come.

This is indeed great news. The only sad part--and this isn't trivial--is that the owners were forced to spend ridiculous amounts of time and lose thousands of dollars in attorney's fees and lost revenue to get where they should have been months ago.

O Street Project Moving Forward

2007-12-10T17:25:00.000-08:00

I think most of the Shaw bloggers were at tonight's zoning commission meeting, so there will probably be redundant accounts.

The upshot is that the O Street Market project was "set down" for public hearing--no date set yet. Since I am basically clueless about the process, I had a chance to ask the gentleman from Roadside (can't recall his name, sorry): "This is a good thing, right?" He was smiling from ear to ear, and replied, "Oh, yes. A very good thing."

What I gathered from a rather cryptic exchange among the commission members was that developers had modified the design to meet the objection about the hight of the hi-rise building. Since no discussion was permitted, no details were offered. The chairman, Anthony Hood, made a remark suggesting that he was not expecting any neighborhood opposition to the project--sure hope he's right.

A good crowd of neighborhood residents turned out--I'd say at least 25-30, and the commission chair obviously took note. Jack Evans was there and recognized, but not allowed to speak on "any specific" project. At the beginning, Mr. Hood made a statement about the impropriety of any "ex parte" conversations with commission members about the project, which means that no one is supposed to lobby them about the project. Couldn't tell if that was directed to anyone in particular.

Anyway, it looks like one stumbling block has been shoved aside, so keep your fingers crossed. Thanks to everyone who turned out tonight.

O Street Project Hearing Update

2007-12-08T15:29:00.000-08:00

Important Update:

Cary Silverman forwarded an e-mail from Roadside (the developers of the O Street Market project) expressing concern that supporters of the project might have a counter-productive effect if overly vocal. They ask that we NOT show up with signs or stickers and that we remain silent during the proceedings. They are not discouraging attendance, but the goal is to get a future hearing date where neighborhood supporters might have a voice.

I don't think anyone was intending to be confrontational or disruptive, but certainly everyone should heed this request. I think the mere presence of a substantial number of neighborhood residents will convey the message that we support the project.

Support the O Street Market Project

2007-12-07T13:16:00.000-08:00

Okay, folks, this is important!

As many of you know, the DC Zoning Commission threw a monkey wrench in the works for getting the plans for the new O Street Market project approved last month. (See recent discussion here.) The key issue was the height of the high rise structures, which would be 110 feet above street level. As the developers pointed out, this is only 2 feet higher than the two neighboring hi-rise apartments across the street, though because of a technicality, it's considered 20 feet higher because the O Street plan would use the top story for a penthouse apartment, whereas the top 18 feet of the other buildings is used for housing mechanicals. Moreover, the O Street plan, unlike the other two buildings, would set back the hi-rise towers so that the top of the buildings would not be visible from the street.

The objections, therefore, appear non-sensical, and the plan seems to be highly desirable for the neighborhood as a whole. It has cleared the historical review board, and there has been little, if any, objection raised by members of the community to the plan. (Aside, of course, for concern about not having a Giant grocery store there for an extended period during the construction.)

We need to show the Zoning Commission that the neighborhood is behind the plan.

At this point, the only way to do that is to show up at the Zoning Commission hearing on Monday, December 10, 6:30 pm, at Judiciary Square, 441 4^th Street, N.W., Room 220 South. It's after normal working hours so a lot of people should be able to make it. Apparently, the commission does not accept public testimony at this stage, but a strong turnout of supporters would make a statement. There was some talk of having supporters wear stickers that would say "SUPPORT IT". I don't know if anyone has organized that yet, however, so you may have to make your own.

Hope to see you there!

Is the ECCA Re-Segregating?

2007-12-03T13:15:00.000-08:00

I have noticed that in the last couple of ECCA flyers distributed around the neighborhood, that organization has added a new subtitle to its name: "Historic African-American Civic Association since 1947".

Of course, it's true that when the ECCA was formed back in the day of segregated Washington, there were separate white groups (usually called "neighborhood associations") and black groups (usually called "civic associations"), and the ECCA was one of the latter--probably the first to be established. So in that sense that designation is correct.

Still, my question is: Why would that line be added to its announcements now? I think anyone reading that would immediately conclude that the ECCA sees itself as a black organization rather than one that represents the entire diverse population that now lives within its purported boundaries. (Just substitute the phrase "European-American", and you'll see what I mean.)

If that's what the ECCA wants to be, then so be it. But I think this sort of stuff is the last thing this neighborhood needs, and yet one more reason to have nothing further to do with this organization. Given what happened a year ago, the ECCA should be recognized and re-named for what it really is: the Committee to Re-elect Leroy Thorpe.

This neighborhood needs and deserves a civic association that truly represents the interests of everyone who lives here--not just a narrow group. Sadly, the ECCA will never be that. If we had a functioning ANC, that might not be so important, but unfortunately, having an effective organization is the only way to bring real pressure on DC's venal and lethargic bureaucracy to deal with the many problems that all of us are contending with in Shaw. Maybe it's time to start something new here.

UPDATE: Just learned that ANC Commissioner Kevin Chapple and neighbor Martin Moulton were ejected from tonight's ECCA meeting at the demand of ECCA "President" Leroy Thorpe. (See here.) [I should note here that when Leroy Thorpe was ANC commissioner, large portions of ECCA meetings were turned over to him to rant on about whatever he wanted. Obviously, that courtesy applied only to him, not to the current ANC commissioner who has been consistently denied that kind of access to what's left of the ECCA membership.]

So much for the charade that this organization is a neighborhood association that represents all residents. If they want to operate this as a private club, that's their business, but no one--especially our public officials--should continue to pretend that this organization is anything but a personal vehicle for Leroy Thorpe. If they want to be associated with him, voters should take note.

Culture of Corruption, Part Deux

2007-11-19T11:43:00.000-08:00

Just in case you missed it, Channel 9 News ran a segment last night (transcript here) with additional details on the Office of Tax and Revenue fiasco.

According to the story, it seems that "Mother Harriette" (or is is Hariette, I've seen it written both ways) Walters had her co-workers cashing her personal checks for $5 to $10 thousand on their lunch breaks and bringing the cash back to her. In return, allegedly, she treated co-workers to Wizards games using her front row season tickets, shopping sprees at Neiman-Marcus, and gambling trips to Vegas and Atlantic City. She was also the office go-to person when co-workers needed a loan, doling out loans for "tens of thousands of dollars." It also appears that at least two of her supervisors had at least an inkling that something fishy was going on, but evidently never followed up. (Who knows? Maybe they got a little something too?)

You gotta admit this is all pretty brilliant. Not only did Mother Hariette help write the rules that she evaded to bleed off $20-30 million in taxpayers' money, she managed to get all of her co-workers enmeshed in a web of complicity so none of them would dare blow the whistle. It increasingly looks like everyone was in on it to some degree.

No wonder OTR can't be bothered with collecting deliquent property taxes. Its employees are all off buying bling at Neiman's or playing the slots at Harrah's. It really makes you want to pay your taxes next time, doesn't it?

This all reminds me of a great song from a 1960 Broadway musical called "Tenderloin" set in Manhattan's red-light district. The chorus of the song goes something like this:

Ain't it grand how the money changes hands!
Ain't it grand how the money changes hands!
Everbody's happy,
Just the way it stands,
Just as long as the money changes hands.

To paraphrase the old Marine expression: Let's fire 'em all and let God sort it out.

Addendum: If you're following this case and its widening ripples, there's good stuff here.

The DC Culture of Corruption

2007-11-14T18:52:00.000-08:00

Well, I am awestruck! According to the WaPo, it now looks like two DC government employees stole $31,000,000. AND NO ONE EVER NOTICED!!! And they've been at it for eight years! So much for the slander that DC government employees are shiftless drones.

I've always thought that the DC Office of Tax and Revenue was lazy and clueless. We know it can't be bothered to investigate and address property tax fraud even when it has the offenders pointed out by concerned citizens. But this is incompetence on a truly breathtaking scale!

CFO Gandhi has stated that the audit procedures in place would not detect such embezzlement, which makes you wonder whether there were any procedures in place at all. Let's look at what happened:

The Post has come up with at least 92 suspicious refund checks out of 8,000 (not a very large number) issued since 2000. Virtually all of these were written for more than $100,000, and in recent years the average amount of the phony checks has been more than $400,000! These are REFUND checks, folks. On PROPERTY TAXES! Can you actually imagine how often a situation would legitimately arise in which a taxpayer would be due a refund of that amount? Virtually never. The average amount for "normal" refund checks is around $10,000. But somehow no one noticed. The scandal only surfaced because a bank clerk refused to cash a check for over $300,000. Most of the checks apparently were not mailed out, but "held for pickup" in OTR. And still no one ever noticed anything strange.

Gandhi has demanded the resignation of some of his subordinates (the George Bush school of accountability?), but is insisting on remaining in office. And Fenty is standing by his man.

This is a shining example of the culture of corruption that pervades this city from top to bottom, because nobody ever follows up on where the money goes. I'm sure there's a Pulitzer Prize waiting for some enterprising investigative reporter who would do an in-depth investigation of what happens to all the money that gets poured into DC school maintenance funds (never mind the grotesquely top-heavy administrative staff). Who provides any financial oversight of all the charter schools that have sprung up like mushrooms, feeding off of public funds? (I know of one that purchased several million dollars in real estate a few years ago and is still sitting on empty properties that provide no visible contribution to the school.) The list could go on and on. No wonder no one gives a crap about a few grand spent on elusive laptop computers doled out to cronies of the ANC commissioner. How chickenshit can you get?

Call me naive, but this makes me really angry. And not only because I do pay my taxes and resent the fact that it's so easy for scofflaws not to pay and incur no penalty. It's just goddamn embarassing that the capital city of the United States is such a screwed-up disaster. Who can blame Virginia suburbanites for regarding DC as a laughingstock? We deserve it if we don't demand better. We can't just shrug our shoulders and sigh "Well, that's DC for ya" if we ever expect anything different. There's an election coming up next year, and it's time to make it hot for the complacent councilmembers-for-life who turn a blind eye to the daily grand larceny the DC government aids and abets.

Previous muggings

2007-10-20T20:28:00.000-07:00

Some people had asked for info regarding previous muggings at or near the Metro station. Here's the what the e-mails said:

Sent: Monday, October 08, 2007 5:30 PM
Subject: Re: [mvsna] Armed mugging 600 block of M Street this morning

Thanks for the info.

Same thing happened to me 2 weeks ago - 2 guys on the south side of the 600 block of M Street at 6:15am. I never saw a weapon since they choked me unconscious without much of a struggle.

I would add to your warning to be particularly cautious on that block, and to be cautious any time before the sun comes up, until these guys have a reason to move on to a different spot.

> Subject: [mvsna] Armed mugging 600 block of M Street this morning> Sent: 08 Oct '07 14:04

> My friend who lives in the Washington Apts was mugged this morning at
> 5:23AM. He was on the south side of M street walking towards the
> Metro when two guys jumped out and threw him into the bushes. They
> attempted to choke him out and take his belongings. He was able to
> fight them off, however they eventually pulled out a gun. Obviously
> keep your wits about you if you find yourself out at night.

This was also posted on the Mt. Vernon Square blog her e.

This regarding the Metro elevator incident:

Tuesday July 24th 2007; aprox 10:30AM

Metro

One of my tenants was attacked in the Mt Vernon Sq Metro elevator by 4 individuals.

It consisted of 2 males and 2 females. 2 suspects held his arms while one was watching out, the other were searching his pockets and bags.

Toward the end of the event my tenant was beaten and ended up in hospital with 13 stitches. Yes, he was sent to the hospital in the AM!!

Another Mugging 600 Block of M Street

2007-10-19T06:01:00.000-07:00

A neighbor on Ridge Street sent this e-mail this morning:

MUGGING
THURS evening 5:30pm or so, 18 OCT 07, 600 Block of M St. NW
Out houseguest was walking from our home on Ridge Street NW to the Mt. Vernon Sq. METRO Station. He was heavily burdened with his travel luggage: pull bag, backpack and briefcase.
His young assailant [early 20's] approached from the front as our guest was walking on the North side of M Street. ASSAILANT attempted to wrench our friend's backpack from him, but failed since both arms were through the straps. Knocking him down and kicking him in the head/face, the ASSAILANT tried again to get the backpack.
Our friend is a professionally trained wrestler -- he tackled the ASSAILANT and tried to pin him to the ground, but burdened with all his luggage he couldn't sustain the hold and the ASSAILANT fled.
UPSHOT: Nothing was stolen. The facial bruises did not require medical attention.
POLICE: Although called, said they were "not available to take a report just now." Rather than miss his train home to WVA, our friend continued on his way. He will file a report later.
ASSAILANT: The word conveys none of the anger and disgust I feel for the brutal child who in his ignorance attacked our friend. He will find it difficult in his life to escape the ripening of this Karma.
IRONY: I was busy at the time of the attack, attending Ms. Harolyn Blackwell, a local Shaw diva, born and raised on Irving Street. Ms. Blackwell was singing at His Holiness the Dalai Lama's Gala Celebration of World Peace at the Mellon Auditorium. Ms. Blackwell and I mused about all the good changes in Shaw since she grew up here.

This is the third such recent mugging I know about in this block, not counting a beating/mugging in the station elevator. At the Mt. Vernon Square meeting this week, police said they had caught the "chokehold" muggers, but it looks like there are more, or else the perps are out on bond and back at work. The MO sounds slightly different, but still fits the pattern of preying on people heading to the metro.

This is a busy block walked by many people, and it clearly deserves some concentrated police attention. Until the last month or so, I had considered the area around this station to be fairly safe, since we had not (to my knowledge, anyway) had the kind of attacks on metro patrons that have plagued the Shaw/Howard station just up the line. (Haven't heard anything about that lately, come to think of it.)

Maybe we residents need to try to embarrass the city into providing better security in the vicinity of the station by demonstrating at the Convention Center with signs pointing out the crime problem. MVSNA got a lot of attention from its demo at Fun Fair, and frankly I think this is more serious.

Bottom line in the meantime: Stay alert when you're walking near the Metro station.

Neighborhood Clean-up Tomorrow

2007-10-12T11:13:00.000-07:00

Jason over at Treebox Vodka has organized another neighborhood clean-up for Saturday, October 13. The meeting point is 11th and O at 9:00 a.m., and this one will focus on O Street. Details here.

I won't be able to make it for the group effort, but will do my bit by continuing the Sisyphean task of picking up the trash strewn daily on our semi-bedraggled block of O. It's the gift that keeps on giving. Alas, I don't think the mattress and boxspring dumped at the derelict house at 509 will fit in the trash bags.

Thanks to all the good folks who keep trying.

Saint Ann Explains it All to You

2007-10-11T21:09:00.001-07:00

In case you missed Donnie Deutsch's interview with tranny SS dominatrix/ Republican attack bitch Ann Coulter, check out this clip on YouTube.

Here St. Ann (who as we all know is a real religious girl) explains that Christians are really "perfected Jews" and in her ideal world all Jews would be "perfected". (Actually, isn't that sort of what the Inquisition was all about?)

She further observes that Jews are supposed to obey all those annoying commandments, but Christianity is like "Federal Express"--you just go straight to the big jackpot without having to worry about stuff like that. (Must have missed that part in Sunday School.)

Don't know about you, but her theology would sure make me want to convert.

Further Thoughts on the ANC Non-Meeting

2007-10-05T12:44:00.000-07:00

If you haven’t already, take a look at Si’s post on the Mt. Vernon Square blog regarding Carole Mumin’s testimony regarding OFTON on Wednesday’s non-meeting and also at Martin’s comment on that. This certainly raises questions about why she singled out Kevin Chapple, but never mentioned the letter from ANC Chair Doris Brooks demanding that her organization repay the grant money it had received. (Kevin raised that point, but I’m not sure it actually registered with most people there.)

Here’s the thing: No one is questioning whether OFTON is a worthy organization that does good work in the community and deserves support. But that does not exempt it (or any other recipient of public funds) from the obligation to provide required documentation to show that the money is being used for the intended purpose.

There really is no need for the displays of righteous indignation—the “how dare you question me when I’ve done such and such” or “...when I’ve been in this neighborhood for X number of years.” That’s not a proper answer, but we get this over and over again in ANC meetings.

If, as appears to be the case here, there was a simple mistake and the required documents are available to be submitted, then fine—send them in and be done with it. There’s nothing wrong with saying that there was a mix-up and the issue is now resolved. But why claim that Kevin has done her an injury, when the alleged infraction was turned up not by him, but by the DC Auditor in the course of looking at other ANC grants?

Why should a demand for accountability be taken as a personal affront? It’s not. It’s the way things should work. If you’ve actually used public funds for the purpose you received them, then why should anyone be embarrassed at being asked to demonstrate that? The only embarrassment is if the funds weren’t used properly.

Unfortunately, I think this defensiveness is a symptom of the climate of non-accountability that has plagued DC for so long and is finally—hopefully—starting to change. Basically, this is why DC schools are in such lousy physical condition (let alone the academics) even though they enjoy quite lavish funding. It’s why DC bureaucracies are often so incompetent and unresponsive, compared to suburban jurisdictions. (Please, spare me the why-don’t-you-move-to-Virginia comments.) If you never demand accountability, it just encourages waste, cronyism, incompetence, and distribution of government services according to how much personal clout you have rather than according to where they’re most needed.

The sums involved in ANC grants are pretty small, but the principle is not. There’s nothing wrong with asking where the money went, and there’s no indignity in having to answer.

ANC Meeting Tonight

2007-10-03T19:01:00.000-07:00

Well, this meeting was certainly unusual. I'm sure there will be video soon, but here's my quick summary.

Things were a little late getting started because Barbara Curtis wasn't there, but Chair Brooks and the Parliamentarian finally started the meeting anyway. The treasurer's report was approved, then Brooks make a motion to approve the September minutes. Padro amended to approve them with corrections; he and Chapple voted aye and Brooks initially voted nay, then with a little nudging from the Parliamentarian, changed her vote. Then, about 6:45, she bolted from the room, hands to mouth, appearing to be sick. A few minutes later, she returned briefly, closed the meeting, and left the building with the Parliamentarian.

This left all the would-be presenters high and dry, so Padro offered to chair a continued unofficial meeting. First to speak was Carole Mumin (I believe the name is right), the president of OFT/ON (Organization for Training Others in Need), who was there to respond to the citation by the DC Auditor of failure to provide proper receipts for an ANC grant to her organization. (That aspect of the report had escaped my notice, I must admit.) She said she had mistakenly submitted the wrong receipts to the auditor and was prepared to present a package of the correct ones to the ANC (which she couldn't officially do because the meeting had been adjourned). She expressed hurt and indignation over the charge, citing the good work the organization had done, and had several graduates of the program there to speak about how they had benefitted from it.
(I was unaware of the organization previously, but it sounds like they do some worthy things.) She chided Chapple for making unproven allegations in his newsletter, and he responded that he had merely quoted the Auditor's report. Then there was some discussion about the ECCA computers not being in public locations. One suggestion (a good one, I think) was to place the computers in the Scott Montgomery School. Some of this got a little emotional, but nothing like the degree we've seen in other meetings, and it was all on a pretty civil level--at least for our benighted ANC.

Then there was a presentation on the proposed high rise rental apartment building in the 400 block of NY Avenue, just west of the Yale Laundry building. The project has concept approval from Historic Review, but will need some zoning variations. There were concerns expressed about height and shadows and whether there would be any "affordable housing" included (answer: none planned), and then it got sort of dragged into the weeds about aesthetic issues. More to come on this.

Mark Bjorge (pronounced Bee-Your_Gee) introduced himself as the new Ward 2 Neighborhood Services Coordinator (replacing Sean Howard). He can be reached at mark.bjorge@dc.gov or at 202-442-8151.

Louella Johnson who works with supervising people out of jail on probation, made a plea for mentors. I believe she said that mentors should be "members of a church"--not sure why that should be a requirement. I'm afraid I missed the contact information.

Then there was a presentation by one of the proposals for Parcel 42. This proposal would be a building that could be built "by right" (i.e., not requiring any zoning variance), and would consist of retail on the ground floor and all "affordable housing" for the rental units, whose maximum rents would range from around $900 to $1200 (if I heard that right). Hmm, I wonder if that's such a great idea; I think a mixed affordable/market project would be preferable.

That was pretty much it. A visitor from the other side of NJ Avenue remarked that we're "mean" over here (compared to the apparent lovefest ANC meetings over there). I just laughed and said, "honey, this was nothing."

Shooting at NJ and O Today

2007-09-30T20:25:00.000-07:00

In case you didn't see it on the Mt. Vernon Square blog, there was a shooting this afternoon at the park at New Jersey and O Streets. There was a brief mention of it on Channel 9 news tonight.

Here are the MPD-3 posts from Asst. Chief Grooms and Captain McCoy, respectively:

Third District units are currently [15:55] on the scene of New Jersey
and O ST NW - they responded for call for gunshots and found an
adult male shot twice in the arms - he was taken to Medstar in
stable condition - the suspect fled on a Bike towards New York Ave
and has been stopped by MPD- placed under arrest at this time for
ADW gun

An adult male was shot in the park at about 1;45 pm. He was transported
to an area hospital and his injuries are said to be non life
threatening. An immediate investigation was conducted and at about 3;30 pm a
suspect was arrested and charged with this shooting. The weapon has not
been recovered as of this posting. Anyone with information is asked to
call the MPD-SOCC at 202-727-9099.

Oddly, yesterday afternoon around 4:30 at that location I saw a gathering of 6 police cars, a paddy wagon, and a about a dozen police. No obvious reason.

Queen of Sheba License Hearing Today

2007-09-20T10:00:00.000-07:00

Just got back from the ABRA hearing on the Queen of Sheba's liquor license (it was still going on, but I had to leave after an hour and a half). In addition to Campbell Johnson and another lady from Shiloh (whose name I didn't catch), there were about six people from the protesting group, including Mary Sutherland and Barbara Curtis (who didn't say anything while I was there).

I was asked to testify on behalf of QOS, which I was happy to do. The questions mostly had to do with what I had observed in the restaurant (good food, friendly service, nice atmosphere, nothing in the least disruptive or disorderly), conditions elsewhere on the block (derelict houses, vagrancy, trash, etc.), and the effect that QOS had had on the surroundings (more life on the block, better appearance, improved sense of safety--all totally positive). Alex Padro was next up and talked about the conditions in the immediate area before the restaurant opened and current plans for development. He presented a petition signed by neighborhood residents some time ago in favor of the liquor licenses for Vegetate and QOS, along with a imagery map showing where the 50-60 signers live (as well as the half-dozen opponents). I thought it was pretty effective; Campbell Johnson and company objected to its being accepted as an exhibit, but in vain. Then Johnson asked for a recess. Everyone groaned, but the chair granted him 5 minutes. I skedaddled back to work at that point, since this was obviously going to continue for quite some time. No one else other than the owners and their lawyer was there to support the QOS cause.

My impression was that the Board was pretty impatient with the protestants and their tactics, so I fervently hope this will be the end of this farce and QOS will get the licence today. Enough is enough, already! It is outrageous that the ABRA board has allowed this to be dragged out so long with the endless do-over opportunities for the opponents. Mr. Misgina and his family have been tortured way too much already.

The opponents seem to be clutching at straws, making nonsensical incoherent arguments (more insinuations, really, than arguments) about parking, noise, taxi cab drivers (what?!). Given the impact of Shiloh's malign neglect on the block and the church's effect on parking, their hypocrisy is truly stunning. It's hard to avoid concluding that their only real agenda is to stifle any positive development and change in the neighborhood that would in any way threaten their sense of special entitlement. Shame, shame, shame!

Buy Me!

2007-09-14T17:45:00.001-07:00

Got back in town to find that one of the nearby derelict properties featured in a previous post is up for sale. Just get a load of this beauty featured in full frontal and rear views above. (Actually, the dumpster shown at the rear of the house is now gone, but I was too lazy to take a new shot.) Long and Foster agent Mitch Story has the listing and here's his write-up from the on-line site:

Super Low Price on Large Shell w/DC Approved Permits to build out to 4400+ SqFt! Plenty of room for parking for 1 or 2 cars and still have a nice yard in back. Look at the comps then look at the multiple condo conversions on this block then you do the math. It works! Grab your investor and bring a flashlight. I'll meet you there at your earliest convenience - Mitch 202.270.4514 for appt!

And all for only $349,000!

Actually, this looks like a legitimate sale and not just a ruse to avoid the Class 3 tax rate, since the proposed tax appraisal for 2008 is $472K. Let's hope someone serious about rehabilitation buys it and really fixes it up. This is a nice block now and could be even better.

Back in the 'hood

2007-09-14T13:16:00.000-07:00

Just back from a vacation in bucolic Maine, it's been a little bit of an adjustment to get back to the realities of our beloved Shaw. Had to run by the house this afternoon, and saw that the 500 block of P Street was closed off with police tape. I didn't have time to stop and inquire, but my immediate thought was that there had been another shooting. Right-on. Here's the preliminary police report, thanks to Cary Silverman and the Mt. Vernon Square Blog.

On 9-14-07, at about 1115 hour gunfire erupted at 9th and P Street, NW. Investigation revealed that no one was injured. Shell casings were recovered 500 P St. NW. Damage to Property reports were taken in the 400 P Street, NW for a car and a home. A witness observed a black male (unknown description) shooting from a car at an unknown subject. We also recovered a Ford Focus vehicle possibly involved in this shooting. The vehicle was towed by police for pending an investigation. Also, the cameras were working at 5th and O and will be reviewed. We will continue to combat crime through partnerships with the community and arresting subjects who are responsible for these acts.
I will prepare a PSA action plan for this area and your input will be needed.
The light truck will be set up in the 400 P Street NW
PSA officers will give special attention on all tours of duty in the target areas.
A Directive Patrol Post will also be established in the block.

[Update: Spoke to one witness who said there was another guy with the shooter and they were on foot. After firing the shots, they reportedly walked rather casually toward 6th Street. It happened about 11:35. Pictures and more info at Kevin Chapple's site (thanks, Martin)]

By coincidence, we were talking this morning with a neighbor from 5th Street while we were all out walking our dogs, and she said there had been another shoot-em-up in the early morning hours last Saturday at the 2nd NW Coop. (We were still away then, but I hadn't heard anything about this one.) Evidently, no one was hit but she said several cars were damaged by the fusillade.

WTF?! It's hard to know where to lay the blame for this situation. I really don't want to fault the police, though I think there are some things that might be done to help prevent this--like getting Shotspotter in our neighborhood (Lord knows there's enough gunfire to justify it!). The 911/311 system is a cruel joke. But if the cops catch the thugs responsible for it, what happens? According to the police themselves, there's little chance of serious punishment for a first offender caught with an illegal weapon, especially if he's a juvenile. And if the gangstas are kids, what are their parents doing? I know parenthood is no picnic, and peer pressure is tough to fight, but in the end it comes down to mothers and, yes, fathers to instill in their children some positive values and ambition to take advantage of the opportunities that exist in this city. And, of course, the community needs to help. I fully support my blogger colleague over at Off Seventh in his campaign to get some serious attention to this neighborhood from the city council, the mayor, the police, and the schools to try to turn this around.

Local Hero

2007-08-26T06:46:00.001-07:00

We knew he was a rock star in the blogger world, but didn't know he was a super sleuth as well. Check out the front page in today's WaPo, for the article about our neighbor Martin Moulton and how he recovered his stolen bike.

This is a cautionary tale about an all-too-frequent crime in our neighborhood: bicycle theft. It's not life-threatening and there are lots worse things that go on around here, but it's one of those things that adversely affects the quality of life in Shaw. (And a reason that I haven't upgraded my piece-of-sh*t 70s-era Chinese bike.)

Sounds like Martin's happy ending was the result of a combination of luck, persistence, and getting help from one of the best cops in the city: Mike Smith. Most people aren't so fortunate. I thought it was ironic that the article states that "police say most bike thefts go unsolved because many victims do not report the crimes or have unregistered bikes." With all due respect, I doubt that the police usually make much of an effort to solve these crimes even if they are reported. (As seems to be the case for "theft from auto", the most frequently reported crime in this and neighboring PSAs.) This may have something to do with why bike thefts are not reported. Nicholas McKenna's story, also reported in the Post story is a case in point.

Muggings at Shaw/Howard Metro Stop

2007-08-11T12:01:00.000-07:00

Some of you may have seen the following on the Shaw Neighborhood listserve (originally from the Bloomingdale listserve), but I think it bears repeating:

From a U Street NW resident, received late Thursday evening, August 9,
2007:

I want to share my experience which makes me a full member of
Bloomingdale.

Tonight Thursday, August 9, 2007, I was mugged. As I came out of the Metro Station Shaw-Howard Univ. Green Line, I was intercepted by a guy who jumped across Rhode Island Av. from the Dwelllings building, and pulled out a 10 to 15 inches silver knife and said "give me all you fucking money or I kill you right here" I was walking home on Rhode Island Av., in front of the Catholic Charities Center for the Homeless, in a well lit area, and with a knife on my chest so I gave him all my money, then he made me empty my pockets and demanded only the cash; then, he said "go." As I got on to the corner of 6 St. and Rhode Island, and turned left I was shocked and froze to hear the same phrase, and I turned to look on the corner of my eye I saw that he was mugging to another guy in the very same spot were he intercepted me. What is even worse as I reached the next corner on 5 street and S St. I saw a white girl crying, being comforted by some people -she was sitting on the ground- and said "I was mugged." She was in shocked I told her that I was walking away from the same thing, because I was just mugged myself too. I do not know whether she reported the incident or not. I do not know if the guy behind me will report it or not, but the certain thing is that I did report my case.

More to this awful experience.

As I walked home. I called 911 and I was asked by the operator very kindly "can you hold, please?" Well, I was in shocked and I did not hold and a few more steps further away, I called 311, and the male operator, pretended not to understand me, asked to describe the man, all in such as way like "I hope that you get bored and not report this." I forced him to take the description and gave him my number although he was not willing to take all the info and I was asked all his questions in a really ineffective way as if in bad mood and I was disturbing him or delaying him to leave at the end of his shift. One hour later no phone call back from the police back in my house, I called 911 again and finally I was able to report the crime. For nothing, but at least to make sure that this goes to the record. I wonder how many people give up and never report when mugged. If the people who call 911 or 311 and receive the treatment I got I have the hunch that many people just give up. I wonder if I were not such a persistent person give up and do not take the time to write a detail email like to to share the concern and give a word to those who live around here. I wonder how many neighbors of Bloomingdale are victims of this and never get to report crimes.

All is clear to me, the area is far more dangerous than it was or has been. I have lived here for 7 years and since I do not have a car and walk around and use public transportation I can assure you that the neighborhood is far more dangerous than it was or has been when most houses were empty and there were less people in the area. Now robbers know that there is money here and this is far better place to come and mugged people. The police does not show up. Note aside, after walking 20 minutes, which usually takes me only 10, I did not see one single police car at all. Keep that in mind when you walk from the metro.

Make sure that your life is more important than walking around Rhode Island.

Comment: This is only the latest example of the flagrant failure of the 911/311 system to work properly. If anyone has been reading the MPD3 listserve, it is full of other instances that are way too numerous to be just flukes. It's hard to tell just how serious a crime has to be to get a response from the system, but it seems fairly clear at this point that armed robbery doesn't make the cut. This is something that citizens should be truly outraged about, and I think it's time for a grass-roots campaign to get some action from the mayor, police chief, and council on this.

The other thing I wonder about is why there doesn't seem to have been any consistent effort by the Metro police to patrol the Shaw/Howard station, which has been the scene of numerous incidents in which Metro patrons have been victimized in recent months. Also, in case you missed it, there was another incident at the beginning of the month in which a neighbor was robbed and beaten in the elevator of the Mt. Vernon Square station. (I noticed the elevator was closed for several days recently, but is back in operation now. The glass in the elevator has been broken repeatedly over the last year--not sure just how, but I hope it wasn't with someone's head, because it's very thick tempered glass.) Maybe it's also time to direct some serious inquiries to the Metro Police about what they're doing to protect patrons in and around stations in this area.

Neighborhood Cleanup on Saturday

2007-08-10T13:43:00.000-07:00

Don’t forget that there will be a volunteer neighborhood clean-up tomorrow, Saturday, August 11 starting at 9:00 a.m. This initiative is being sponsored by ANC Commissioner Chapple and neighborhood blogger Treebox Vodka.

Meet at the (still non-operating) Watha T. Daniels Library on Rhode Island Ave. Bring gloves, water, and willing hands. Trash bags, brooms, and maybe a one of those sticks with a nail on the end wouldn’t hurt either.

This is the first of what is hoped to be a monthly effort, and will concentrate on the 7th Street corridor. It looks like the weather will be reasonably comfortable, so come on out and join your neighbors to help make Shaw look a little better.

UPDATE: About 15-20 people turned up on this beautiful Saturday morning to pick up trash along 7th Street. Thanks to Jason, James, and Martin for having everything so well-organized, including gloves and those keen little trash-grabber things (gotta get me one of those). I'm not sure how many trash bags were filled (mine was pretty stuffed by the time I got to M Street), but the haul was pretty good. I only found one Velikoff vodka bottle (at the P Street bus stop). Some passers-by even went out of their way to put some trash in my bag as they walked by. A good effort that bears repeating.

A Girl Named Madison

2007-08-08T11:52:00.000-07:00

This post has nothing to do with Shaw, but I think it’s kind of interesting in a bizarre sort of way.

I happened to be poking around in the Social Security website (in anticipation of impending geezerhood), when I noticed they have a section that lists the most popular names given to babies in the US. I idly clicked on it and was surprised to see that the number 3 name for girls in 2006 was “Madison”.

Well, I have never known a girl child named Madison, and I started wondering how I could have missed such a phenomenon. I sort of knew that girls’ names are much more prone to change with fashion than boys’, which tend to stay pretty much the same (though the recent rise of “Jacob” and “Ethan” are perhaps exceptions). But even though girls’ names come and go in popularity, the rest of the Top 20 are all recognizable as traditional female names.

It turns out that “Madison” peaked in terms of national popularity when it hit #2 on the list in 2001 and 2002, (behind the all-conquering “Emily”). But it is tenaciously holding the #3 spot, and remains the #1 name for girls in every southern state from Louisiana to Delaware (except Florida) and has been for the last several years. (In DC, the top name is “Katherine”, BTW.) In 2002, “Madison” was the #1 girl’s name in 24 states.

But is this just a southern fad? Well, no. Actually, “Madison” didn’t even make the top 1000 list for the US until 1985, when it surfaced at #625. It gradually gained popularity through the nineties and finally cracked the Top 10 in 1997. But it first showed up as a truly popular name in Utah, of all places, when it suddenly appeared as the #2 girls’ name in that state in 1995. By the next year, it was #1 in Utah, Oklahoma, and Kansas, and then spread like wildfire throughout the West and Midwest., but didn’t really catch fire in the South until 2000. Since then, the Madison wave has receded in the square states, but seems to be well-entrenched in Dixie.

So where does the idea of naming a girl “Madison” come from? A bit of googling turned up the theory that it all started with the 1984 movie “Splash”, which featured a mermaid (played by Darryl Hannah, whose last name is also now super-popular among the pink layette set), who picked that name for herself off of a street sign. Well, okay, but then why would take 10 years for it to suddenly emerge in Utah as the new “Jennifer”? Was it a Mormon thing?

Who knows the answers to such mysteries, after all? But it could be worse; at least it wasn’t “Fillmore.”

Vacant Properties, con'd.

2007-07-29T07:48:00.000-07:00

I noticed yesterday that there's a Fire Department condemnation notice on the property at 1417 5th Street NW (pictured above). Apparently that doesn't mean too much except for requiring the owner to secure the property against unauthorized entry and vermin infestation. But at least it suggests that someone may be paying attention. This property is actually on the vacant properties list, but it's still listed as Class 1 residential rather than the Class 3 rate that's supposed to be applied to vacant properties. Best of all, according to the on-line data, it's getting the homestead deduction!

There's a new (at least to me) blog called DC Vacant Properties, which I just learned about this week. Check it out.

I wasn't able to go to the July 3 hearing on vacant and nuisance properties scheduled by council member Mary Cheh, but submitted a written statement. Here's an excerpt of what I sent:

What Needs to be Done?

Apply tax sanctions quicker and put the burden on the owner to show why the property should be Class 1, not the other way around. A new owner could be given a reasonable period of time—say one year—after acquiring a vacant property to make it habitable, but after that grace period the Class 3 tax should apply even if work is underway to improve it. This would avoid endless waivers for permits on work that is never done.
Set the tax assessment at the actual market value on all Class 3 properties. This would avoid a situation where the taxable assessment is ridiculously low because it is based on some grandfathered appraisal that has not kept up with the market value because of caps on tax increases.
Both DCRA and OTR need to be proactive in eliminating abuse. As it stands, they may respond to persistent prodding from citizens, but do not appear to have any systematic process for verifying tax status.
Send out field assessors to ground truth property status. It is not hard to pick out vacant properties by simply walking up and down a block. Set up a schedule to cover the entire city on a two or three year rotation. The cost of hiring field assessors could easily be covered by the increased tax revenue brought in. Also, work with neighborhood associations who are doing their own inventories of vacant properties.
Restrict exceptions to Class 3 status. Put a reasonable time limit—say six months—for exceptions based on putting the property up for sale. Require the asking price to be within a 5 percent margin of the taxable appraisal in order to get an exception.
Eliminate the gap between DCRA and OTR. Once a property is put on the vacant property list, imposition of Class 3 status should be automatic, not require a separate action by OTR. The short circuits in the current system need to be investigated and eliminated.
Ensure that all properties with delinquent taxes are included in the annual tax sale. Currently, the tax sale list is far from complete, and the process by which tax-delinquent properties get on the list appears to be haphazard and error-prone.

Home Invasion and Assault on P Street

2007-07-24T20:29:00.001-07:00

Tonight's 11:00 news carried a disturbing story about a break-in and sexual assault in the 900 block of P Street around 4:45 a.m. this morning. The Channel 4 version of the story is here.

No way of knowing if this related to other incidents in the neighborhood. The MPD-3 listserve also reported another break-in in the 2000 block of 10th Street last Friday. Another post noted a rash of 14 burglaries in "East Dupont" (apparently including Logan and Shaw), mostly occurring during the morning between 7 and 11. There is suspicion that some may be related to a convicted burglar who was released from prison in March and may have been sighted in the neighborhood.

So if you've been a little lax in precautions, maybe this would be a good time to be a bit more careful.

Something to discuss with the MPD representative at Kevin Chapple's single-member district meeting at the Kennedy Rec Center at 7 p.m. on Wednesday night. He'll also have someone there to discuss the O Street Market project and Parks and Recreation.

Farewell to the Warehouse

2007-07-24T13:50:00.000-07:00

Sadly, the Warehouse is closing its doors this weekend, a victim of a killer property tax increase. The farewell party is this weekend; see this post in DCist for details.

I think this is a bigger loss to the neighborhood than the also-imminent closing of AV Ristorante--of the stygian gloom and mediocre 1950s-style Eyetalian food. The Warehouse had a sweet funky feel and was one of the few places in DC that didn't feel somehow, well, "processed". (The old, and long-gone, DC Space was another.)

What chaps me about it is that the DC government agency--Office of Tax and Revenue--that is destroying a genuine neighborhood cultural treasure is the same agency that can't manage to properly classify--let alone collect taxes on--the thousands of vacant, derelict properties that litter this city. So it will now create another empty store front across from the underused Convention Center that will languish for who knows how long until it's replaced with another soulless office building with a "historic" façade. Maybe if we're real lucky, we'll get a Potbelly's or Hooters to lure the convention crowd.

Shame on the District government and shame on the Council for their failure to find a way to protect legitimate small businesses from punitive taxation, while giving the slumlords a free pass!

No Joy Ride

2007-07-24T04:23:00.000-07:00

My partner was walking the dogs yesterday evening and saw a commotion in the alley between O and P next to Bundy Park. A car was overturned in the alley and had landed on its roof. The photo shows the scene this morning, with two garage doors bashed in.

According to a neighbor who lives on the block, two teenage kids stole a car from a gas station in NE. Somehow, they picked this alley to go down and evidently deliberately started running the car into the garage doors. Somehow they managed to flip the car over--it's hard to imagine just how.

So now these neighbors are stuck with the damage (not to mention the car owner). Apparently the car insurance on the stolen car will not pay for the damage because it was being driven by an "unauthorized driver." Huh?!

Don't know if the kids got caught, but wonder if anything would happen to them even if they were.

2007-07-10T14:11:00.000-07:00

Thanks to Mr. Ray for tipping me off to a fascinating exhibit at the Jewish Historical Society of Greater Washington on the mostly-vanished Jewish mom-and-pop grocery stores that once dotted every neighborhood in this city in the first half of the 20th century. (In case you don't know about it, the JHSGW museum is at 3rd and G, just up the street from the Casa d'Italia, in a former synagogue that was moved from its original location to allow for the construction of Metro headquarters--an interesting tale in itself.) The on-line version of the exhibit is here.

There is a database on the locations of the stores, and I counted at least two dozen in the Shaw area, including the one pictured at 1521 5th Street, which operated from 1921 until 1959. The building is now gone, replaced by the playground in back of the Scott Montgomery School. I was also able to verify that the building at 5th and O (1400 O Street) was indeed once a grocery store--probably the one that figures in several stories by Edward P. Jones. As the exhibit points out, many of the proprietors lived in the same buildings above the store--at least initially. There's not much information about most of them, and it looks as if many stores didn't survive too long, but they bear witness to the fact that diversity in the neighborhood goes way back.

I won't try to list all the addresses I found, but here are a few picked out at random:
414 R St.
1544 9th St.
622 N St.
1219 5th Street
1211 7th Street
9th and Q
411 O Street
5th and M
7th and O
461 Q Street
If you have a little bit of the history bug and some patience, run through the database and see what you find.

Up in Smoke

2007-07-05T12:50:00.000-07:00

Watching the truly impressive neighborhood fireworks show last night that went on (and on and on) for hours after the official Big Show on the Mall, I have to confess that I rather enjoyed it. There was a little girl visiting a neighbor who was ecstatically dancing out on the sidewalk and saying "I love firecrackers, I love firecrackers." I kinda understand where she was coming from. ( I don't really love firecrackers, but I do like the big chrysanthemum blooms or whatever they're called.) I have fond memories of setting off fireworks myself when I was a kid in pre-OSHA days. Somehow, officially-sanctioned displays don't quite carry the same excitement.

I know a lot of people have complained about the noise and safety issues, and who's to disagree? DCist and Off Seventh carry a picture of a kid holding what looks like a roman candle in his hand. Brian quite properly asks why any parent would let her child do that? And why cops would stand idly by while kids (and adults, I'm sure) aim rockets and roman candles at houses and people? Good points. I was glad that it had rained a bit beforehand, otherwise I think we might have seen a lot more fires started from all the carelessness.

I get a little sick of the noise too. However, this was nothing compared with my second night after arriving in Brazil in 1973 which turned out to be St. John's Day when all hell breaks loose all night long. That really did sound like being in the middle of an artillery bombardment--incredible! So all things are relative, I suppose. And I do appreciate the spontaneous quality of the DIY fireworks displays, which after all are a kind of tradition--like it or not--in DC.

A couple of other thoughts occur, however:

Who pays for all this stuff? Those aren't just sparklers and fountains. What I saw exploding over the 'hood was some serious Bang, and those things don't come cheap. There are a lot of towns whose municipal displays wouldn't have equalled what went up within a block of 5th and O. I figure at least several thousand dollars went up in smoke there last night--not to mention the previews on preceding nights. Okay, people can spend their money according to their own priorities, but literally blowing that much money into smithereens doesn't make much sense to me, unless you really have it to burn.

Why have laws banning fireworks if the cops won't enforce them? Unenforced laws just encourage contempt for law in general. Maybe a couple of retailers were busted this year, but it's obvious that the police make no attempt to do anything about people shooting off prohibited fireworks, which include pretty much everything but sparklers. So why not quit pretending to ban anything except the most dangerous of fireworks, but go after the idiots who are endangering others by their reckless use of these things? Otherwise, it just seems like one more example of turning a blind eye.

Just sayin'.

Shotspotter

2007-06-29T13:44:00.000-07:00

I went to the CAC meeting at the MPD 3rd District last night to hear the Shotspotter presentation. I'm not sure what I was expecting, but I went away feeling a bit let down.

The (fairly brief) presentation was made by an MPD officer named Brito (wasn't quite sure I got the name right), who gave a quick overview of Shotspotter capabilities. Basically it is a sophisticated microphone system that can distinguish between gunshots and other similar noises (like firecrackers, backfires, etc.) and pinpoint their location within 10-20 feet. The system has been set up in the 7th District (in Anacostia) and is tied in to the MPD control center, so that it can give virtually instantaneous information about shootings without relying on call-ins from citizens. The officer noted that the people who call in usually have only a vague idea about the location of the shots (something we're all familiar with), and they frequently are unavailable or unwilling to give follow-up information. According to him, it has proved a useful tool for apprehending guns and shooters where it has been used.

I asked about how decisions are made about where the system is deployed, and noted that in PSA 308 we have been experiencing several incidents of gunfire virtually every week and lots of residents are keen on having Shotspotter deployed here. The answer was that the initial deployment was paid for by the FBI, and it is being installed in the 7th, 6th, and 5th districts (in that order), with the FBI funds. Beyond that, however, he said it will have to go through the normal procurement system, which I take to mean that it will have to be paid for out of MPD budget allocations. As I understood his answer, there are no imminent plans to deploy it in the 3rd District. No one else asked any questions about it.

I'd like to be proved wrong, but my takeaway from this is that the only way we're going to see Shotspotter around here soon (or maybe ever) is to ratchet up the political pressure on the Mayor, Council, and the Police Chief by writing to them and demanding this. I think we have a good case, given the frequency of gunfire in this area, and Columbia Heights (also in MPD3) is another hot spot. This is also one more reason to call in 911 or 311 if you hear gunfire--it does go into the record and help establish a statistical basis for putting it here rather than somewhere else. [BTW, I'm trying to maintain a little DIY database of such incidents that I pick up off of the blogs, listserves, etc.]

I think we all realize that Shotspotter is just a tool, not a panacea, and the degree to which it helps depends greatly on the response time of the officer on duty at the time. After all, we've had shootings recently with officers less than a block away, and the response time in those instances was at least as good as one could hope for with Shotspotter. The basic problem remains that there are too many young dudes packing heat. One sidelight to last night's discussion was the observaton that even though being caught with an unlicensed gun is a felony, the courts generally don't give jail time until the same individual has multiple offenses.

Commander McCoy also noted that several new crime cameras are being installed in the area: 5th and N, 11th and N, 9th and T, and 200 block of V. There's some discussion of these on the MVSNA blog, with most people saying that they just push the criminal activity somewhere else, or don't really help deter crime. I guess I'm agnostic on whether they're worth the expense. Still, I'm kinda glad there's one on my corner.

Sick of Derelict Properties?

2007-06-27T14:10:00.000-07:00

Most of us in this neighborhood have at least one derelict nuisance property on our block. If you're fed up with the DC government's indifference and incompetence in dealing with the problem, here's your chance to vent:

Councilmember Mary Cheh will be holding a public oversight hearing on vacant and nuisance property administration and enforcement at 1:00 p.m. on Tuesday, July 3 in the 5th Floor Council Chamber of the Wilson Bldg. at 1350 Pennsylvania Ave., NW. According to the notice, the hearing will "explore a range of issues, including the outcomes of vacant and nuisance property cases, enforcement against serious and repeat violators, and best practices in vacant and nuisance property administration and enforcement. The public hearing will begin at 1:00 p.m. in the fifth-floor Council Chamber at the John A. Wilson Building, 1350 Pennsylvania Avenue, N.W. Please note that this hearing was originally scheduled for Monday, July 2, 2007, at 10 a.m. The hearing date had to be changed due to a scheduling conflict."

Anyone wishing to testify at the hearing should contact Aukima Benjamin, Staff Assistant to the Committee on Public Services and Consumer Affairs, at 724-4902 or via email at abenjamin@dccouncil.us. All witnesses will be permitted a maximum of five (5) minutes for oral presentation. The witness list will close at the end of the business day on Friday, June 29, 2007.

If you are unable to testify at the hearing, written statements are encouraged and will be made a part of the official record. Copies of written statements should be submitted either to the Committee on Public Services and Consumer Affairs, or to Ms. Cynthia Brock-Smith, Secretary to the Council, Room 5 of the John A. Wilson Building, 1350 Pennsylvania Avenue, N.W., Washington, D.C. 20004. The record will close at the end of the business day on Tuesday, July 17, 2007.

Comment: In my view the system is still broken, despite some recent improvements in the regulations. It takes obnoxious persistence to get a derelict on the vacant property list, and that's just the beginning of the process. There are many loopholes for a scofflaw owner to avoid getting on the list (e.g., getting work permits for work that never gets done), and even if the property does get listed, there is no assurance that it will have the Class 3 (vacant property) tax rate applied that hikes the tax to five times the normal rate. There is a gap between the inspection agency (DCRA) and the tax agency (OTR) and the connection seems to fail more often than it works. And then there are still multiple ways to evade the punitive tax rate. The result is that the slumlords get off basically scotfree, and the rest of us pay the price.

Some Things to Like about Shaw

2007-06-17T09:21:00.000-07:00

Sometimes we get so caught up in neighborhood problems, that we forget to note the really nice things that just happen around here. Here are a few from this weekend:

Saturday morning at the Catania Bakery: I love going over there to get fresh croissants (the best in the city, IMHO) and some of that great, crusty, dense Italian bread. (Four large croissants and a loaf of bread for $5.30!) I generally pass up the pastries, though they are also terrific and I can recommend them as well. You need to go pretty early, though, because they often sell out well before noon. Yesterday, I ran into In Shaw blogger Mari, who is also a regular customer, while I was making my purchase. The bakery is like a trip back in time--I kind of miss the old mechanical cash register that they recently replaced with an electric one. And have the correct change handy if possible. (N. Capitol Street between P and O.)

Good Libations' capoeira show: Ronny Green got a good crowd for this yesterday afternoon--I'd say at least 40-50 people were there. The samba warm-up featuring three well-endowed lady sambistas was also well-received, and they even enticed a few brave souls to join them on stage. The capoeira was very good with the percussion and sung accompaniment--no audience participation on that, thank goodness--a concussion would have been a definite downer. It was a lot of fun, and something you don't see every day in DC. I hope he sold a lot of Pitú.

The X event at BeBar: Sort of an updated 60's light show (we used to do it without computers!) combined with performance art and other stuff. Can't say it was exactly the promised "sensory overload" (though another one of those pear vodka and tonics might have done the trick), but it was interesting and different and a cool backdrop for hanging out with friends. This event drew a somewhat different (i.e., less overwhelmingly gay) crowd than the normal BeBar clientele. It's great that they're hosting events like this.

Bloomingdale Sunday Farmers Market: I got there right at the 10:00 opening time and there was already a good crowd. I counted about eight vendor stalls, selling everything from strawberries and cherries (from PA) to fresh flowers to organic lamb to specialty wine vinegars. I came away with strawberries, cherries, radicchio, baby red onions, fresh basil and lemon thyme (the latter from our own 7th Street Garden, no less), squash, and a mixed flower bouquet. (No field-grown tomatoes, yet, unfortunately.) Everybody seemed to be delighted to have the market, so it was a real upper. Also the Big Bear Cafe has opened next door. I didn't have time to linger but walked through it and really liked the vibe. They sell coffees, teas, pastries, etc. and have a really pleasant space to enjoy it in. I plan to go back when less rushed. Maybe it's not technically in Shaw, but I think it's wonderful to have this in the neighborhood, and kudos to whoever got this to happen. (1st and R, NW, every Sunday from 10 - 2)

Capoeira, Cachaça, and Farmers Market

2007-06-15T16:00:00.000-07:00

Ronny Green's Good Libations at 5th and M will be hosting a cachaça tasting on Saturday, June 16 from 6-8. For those unfamiliar with this Brazilian potent potable, it was once a kind of moonshine made from the fermented sugar cane stalks and considered to be the drink of the poor, but no more. Cachaça has now been elevated to another level--kind of like the way tequila in Mexico has gone upscale--and once you try it, you'll like it. The most famous drink made from cachaça is the caipirinha (which means little country girl in Portuguese), in which whole limes are mashed with sugar and stirred with cachaça and ice. They are deceptively smooth and delicious--so pace yourself if you start.

As part of the event the DC School of Capoeira (an acrobatic Afro-Brazilian martial art/dance from Brazil's Northeast) will be performing and showing off their moves.

While you're there, be sure to check out Ronny's expanding wine selection. He holds a regular wine-tasting every third Thursday of the month. Any questions, you can call him at 202-347-1006.

And don't forget the Bloomingdale Farmer's Market that starts this Sunday from 10 until 2, rain or shine, and 1st and R Streets, Northwest.

Are You Being Served?

2007-06-08T15:56:00.000-07:00

Those of us who live within the East Central Civic Association's (ECCA) amorphous boundaries (see below) may legitimately wonder what purpose is served by that organization, other than being something that Leroy Thorpe could claim to be president of after his defeat for ANC commission last November. (For an account of how he hijacked the ECCA, see here.)

The ECCA was founded in 1947 in then-segregated Washington, and it was once an important voice for the black community in this part of the city, who were excluded from the political power structure of the city. Recently, however, the ECCA has done little but hold monthly meetings, which generally have been attended by no more than 15-20 people. Even though I live in its area, I have never seen a meeting announcement flyer on my block. The organization has no web site (I naively offered to help set one up last year, but got the brush-off) and no e-mail address, even though it has supposedly received computers as largesse from the ANC and private donors for the express purpose of communicating with the public and the police. Unlike the activist Mt. Vernon Square Neighborhood Association which organizes neighborhood projects and engages constructively with city agencies, the ECCA basically does nothing.

So what area does the ECCA cover? Well, that depends on who you ask. Former President Betty Newell defined it as being bounded by NJ Avenue on the east, RI Avenue on the north, 7th St. on the west and O Street on the south. Now, according to a notice in Jack Evans's latest newsletter, "it serves the area bounded by 3rd Street, NE on the east, Pennsylvania Avenue, on the south, 7th Street, NW on the west and Florida Avenue on the north." So all you folks in Mt. Vernon Square, Gallery Place, Penn Quarter, Truxton Circle, NoMA, and a little piece of Capitol Hill: you should know that Leroy Thorpe claims to speak for you.

In my opinion, the ECCA doesn't actually serve anyone (except perhaps its "president"). So is it time to create something else that would? A couple of other people have raised that idea as well.

Does it even matter? Sadly, I think it does. Despite improvements in responsiveness under Tony Williams, this city still operates under a system of patronage politics with a lethargic bureaucracy that often won't move unless prodded from above. It really shouldn't take two years and intervention by the mayor's ombudsman Joe Martin (who is doing a fantastic job, by the way) to get lights in the NJ&O park, but it does. Organizations carry more clout with the city government than individuals do. They get recognized and listened to at neighborhood events. Visibility counts.

One possibility would be to organize a new neighborhood association that would basically cover the part of Shaw that lies outside of Mt. Vernon Square's area. Given ECCA's exaggerated territorial claims which encompass a number of existing neighborhood or civic associations (e.g., MVSNA, Downtown, Bates Area, and probably some others I don't know about) there shouldn't be any problem about having another independent organization operating within its purported boundaries. But starting something like that is a major commitment and should not be undertaken lightly.

Another less ambitious option would be to organize around a specific issue or two that is of concern to the community--derelict properties, for example. As glad as I am to see the spotlight shining on Shiloh's egregious offenses, that's just the tip of the iceberg, and most of the derelict properties in the neighborhood are in private hands. MVSNA has done a great job at getting an inventory made of such properties in its area and engaging city agencies, but there is no similar effort for the rest of Shaw. Face it: ECCA will never do anything of the sort, and the ANC won't either because it remains deadlocked. But there's no reason residents couldn't form an association to attack such problems, and maybe eventually it could evolve into something else.

The important thing is to be inclusive and genuinely open to anyone who wants to be involved--something that the ECCA unfortunately is not.

I hope this post will stimulate a dialogue which I'd be happy to continue here and in other forums.

June ANC Meeting--Almost Normal

2007-06-06T19:52:00.000-07:00

Well, whaddya know...an almost normal ANC meeting. The bar is set pretty low, of course, but at least it didn't degenerate into a shouting session. Martin got the whole thing on tape (no static on that, so maybe that point is finally settled), but if you don't have the sitzfleisch to watch the whole thing, here are a few observations from your humble blogger:

The treasurer's report and minutes of the May meeting were approved unanimously. This may seem pretty humdrum, but it actually represents a breakthrough of sorts, because for the first time the draft documents had been delivered to commissioners Chapple and Padro before the meeting. Alas, this was not the case for the quarterly report, and Chapple moved to table it for that reason. There ensued a long, rather confused discussion about rules of order, but after fifteen minutes or so the tabling motion came to a vote. Brooks voted no, Chapple and Padro voted yes, and I think Curtis voted yes too initially. However, the Parliamentarian then tried his best to get Curtis to change her vote, launching into extended "explanations" of what it all meant. Despite protests that the motion had already been voted on, there was another vote, and maybe another (it was pretty chaotic and I couldn't always hear what was going on), but in the end Curtis abstained, so the motion passed to table it. Another first, I think.

The two written agenda items presenters were no-shows, but Mr. Wang (not sure about the spelling) of the Chinatown Steering Committee alleged that the DC Planning Commission was ignoring or bypassing the committee regarding various approvals. It was unclear to me whether his complaint referred to one of the no-shows (Yemi Wong, regarding a project in the 600 block of H Street) or to a project by the Gould development company on the block bounded by Mass, I, 6th and 7th, but most of the ensuing discussion involved the latter. (This was in part a reprise of an earlier ANC meeting back in October, I think.) Without a lot more background, it's hard to understand exactly what all the discussion is about but the initial complaint seems to be that the DC Planning Commission approved the design of the Gould project without the imprimatur of the Steering Committee. The poor guy from the Planning Commission got lambasted by Thorpe, who basically accused him of not knowing what the rules were. It's hard to tell if the issue is mainly a question of not being sufficiently deferential to the Steering Commitee or if it's really about the latter's dissatisfaction over what they've been able the shake down the Gould operation for. Gould, who was there again, made what seemed to me a pretty convincing case citing numerous meetings with the Steering committee or its sub-committees and concessions made to the Chinese community regarding design, amenities, contributions to organizations, and leasing, etc. He said he had paid Tony Cheng $6.5 million for the property and had offered him a pro rata share of the project, but Cheng opted out. So who knows what the real story is. Despite occasional lip service to preserving the Chinese presence in Chinatown, it mainly seems to be about tussling between rich developers and rich Chinese businessmen.

One interesting note: Thorpe urged Mr. Wang to make a presentation at the next ECCA meeting. Last I heard, the southern limit of ECCA's bailiwick is N Street--a long way from Chinatown. This is the second little indication I've heard recently suggesting that Thorpe sees his sphere of influence as covering a much wider swath of the city than the ECCA presently allegedly represents. An issue for a later date.

The Chinatown discussion took a very loooong time, and ended with a powerpoint presentation showing the project and highlighting derelict buildings and trash that have already been cleaned up in anticipation of construction.

Debby Smith made a quick appeal for support for a day spa she wants to build at the NE corner of 7th and P (1501 7th). The lot is presently owned by the NCRC but it will be disposed of by the DC government and she apparently has prepared the way to acquire it. She alluded to a previous bid for ANC approval, which apparently had been shot down by Thorpe. A fairly heated exchange ensued, but thankfully was cut short. Would be interesting to know the back story.

There was a presentation by the "People's Property Campaign" which is pushing a "Public Property Community Bill of Rights". Basically, there pitch is that no more publicly owned DC property should be sold until a promised inventory is completed, and that if sold its use should be restricted to certain purposes as determined by the community. They have a website. No vote was taken on this. (Wonder if that had something to do with the little "park" on N Street that UHOP would like to acquire.)

Finally, there was a presentation by Roosevelt Cohens who wants to open up a program providing day services for released criminal offenders from his house at 1718 5th Street. Thorpe (who lives nearby) reacted strongly to this, and discussion was cut short and the meeting gavelled closed.

Overall, this was a big improvement over previous meeting. The Parliamentarian still runs the show, speaking whenever he likes for as long as he likes, and either directly deciding who gets to speak or telling Ms. Brooks whom to recognize, and favored people get to go on and on. And rules of order are flouted repeatedly. But still...

Tires Slashed on O Street

2007-06-06T07:40:00.000-07:00

Several residents (apparently all of the 2nd NW Coops) woke up this morning to find that someone had slashed the tires of their cars parked on the 400 block of O Street next to Bundy Park. We spoke to one of the victims whose tires were being replaced this morning, who said that the tire slashings looked to be reprisals against coop residents who have been calling the police on criminal activities, adding "it seems like the more the neighborhood gets better, the more some people just want to make it worse."

Amen to that. And here's to the residents who have been brave enough to blow the whistle on malignant elements in the community--they deserve the thanks and support of everyone.

Farmers Market to Start Up Nearby

2007-05-30T11:58:00.000-07:00

I noticed a post on DCist about a new farmers market to start June 17 at 1st and R NW in nearby Bloomingdale. It will be open on Sundays from 10 to 2. It's a lot closer than Dupont (maybe even walking distance) and should be more accessible. (Try finding a parking place near Dupont if you don't get there before 9.) There's a poster and a little map on the Bloomingdale blog.

Crime and Perceptions

2007-05-21T19:09:00.000-07:00

My fellow blogger over at Off Seventh responded to my previous post about crime statistics by asking about our neighboring PSA 307 (basically the Logan Circle area between L and S and 9^th and 15^th). [PSA 308 is bounded by 9^th and NJ and by NY and S/Florida]. So I downloaded the stats for 307 for the same date range: Feb. 1- May 19, and what I found may surprise you.

First of all, there were more than twice as many crimes reported in 307 as in 308: 248 vs. 106. Here are the numbers:

Crime PSA307 PSA308

ADW 14 7

Burglary 38 10

Homicide 1 0

Robbery 23 18

Stolen cars 15 22

Theft 65 19

Theft from auto 92 28

Sex Abuse 0 2

Total 248 106

Clearly the biggest difference is in the “theft” and “theft from auto” categories. I suspect this stems from the fact that 307 has many more restaurants, bars, etc. that attract non-residents who may be less careful about keeping valuables out of sight in their cars and also that there are more commercial establishments that may be attractive to thieves.

But even allowing for that, in the violent crimes category, Logan (PSA307) actually appears worse than Shaw (PSA308), when you look at the numbers. This, by the way, isn’t just a fluke; I had previously looked at the data from last year, which showed similar results.

The odd thing is that if you asked a random set of residents which area is “safer”, I’d bet that most people would say Logan. So why is that?

Here are my theories (in no particular order):

Random gunfire and drive-by shootings. There are, unfortunately, way too many of these in Shaw, and most of it doesn’t show up in the crime stats. You don’t often hear about this kind of stuff in Logan nowadays. Having shootings in public areas—often in broad daylight, sometimes in sight of police—creates a lot of anxiety because who knows when some stray bullet might find you?

Known gang activity and visible drug dealing. By now most people are aware that the shootings are almost entirely linked to beefs between local gangs, and we see the graffiti evidence of their presence on walls, sidewalks, and trees all over the area. Also, I’d wager that most Shaw residents could point out addresses where they know or suspect that drugs are being dealt on a regular basis. The drug activity is probably true in Logan as well (I just don’t know how prevalent it is), but you don’t hear much about gangs in that area.

General appearance. By now, Logan is pretty thoroughly tarted up—Shaw a lot less so. There are many more derelict properties, more trash in the streets—just the sort of things that can create a subliminal sense of apprehension.

Racial perceptions. Logan is whiter, and—let’s be frank here—many people associate white neighborhoods with being “safe.” Never mind that black people don’t like crime any more than white people do.

But in reality, are you actually more at risk from crime in Shaw than in Logan? Is it possible that it’s really just the opposite?

More Shots at 7th and O

2007-05-19T20:31:00.000-07:00

Just went out to walk the dogs at 11:15 p.m. and saw lots of flashing police lights at 7th and O. I asked a policeman if something else had happened, and he said that shots were fired there earlier tonight, but no one was hit. (I guess that means it doesn't register in the crime statistics.)

I just saw that Cmdr. McCoy posted this on the 3D list serve: Tonight at about 8;45 pm at 1301 7th St NW a subject was seen firing a handgun. A sergeant from our Narcotics and Special Investigation Division was driving in the block and observed this at which time the subject fired on the sgt. Fortunately, neither the sgt or anyone else was injured. Other officers from 3D and the redeployed group converged on the scene, but the subject was able to escape capture.

Maybe we're all getting a little too used to this.

Crime, by the Numbers

2007-05-18T19:49:00.000-07:00

Back in January I put together a list of reported crimes involving guns that got a fair amount of attention. My impression has been that after a really frightening spike in gun-related crime in January, things calmed down considerably for a couple of months. I attributed this largely to an expanded police presence and more aggressive patrolling.

Unfortunately, that lull seems to have ended with a number of shootings and increasingly frequent reports of gunfire in the past few weeks. I don’t know if that’s because the police “surge” has slacked off, or if it’s for totally unrelated reasons. We have had at least a couple of instances of shootings virtually within sight of police personnel, so it’s obvious that police presence won’t necessarily prevent a drive-by.

I’ve collected and done a little analysis of the published police crime statistics for PSA 308 from Feb. 1 through the middle of May. Of course, there are problems with the police stats, since these only include cases where there is a complainant. So if, for example, someone gets shot and refuses to make a complaint, it doesn’t go on the books (at least that’s how I understand it), and the cases don’t include reports of gunfire where no one gets hit.

Still, I think they’re interesting, so here’s what I found. According to the stats, since February 1, there have been:

7 cases of assault with deadly weapon. Two of these were with a gun, both in the 1300 block of 7^th Street; one was with a knife. The rest were listed as “other”.

18 reported robberies. Six of these involved a gun. Two happened on the 1100 block of 5^th Street (one with a gun, the other an “attempt”).

10 reported burglaries. Only two of these occurred when the premises were occupied. Two were in the 1500 block of Marion, and two in the 400 block of Warner.

19 theft cases. These included two cases of shoplifting, 1 stolen bicycle (guess which one), and one set of car tags. Of the rest, the reported value of the stolen items was less than $250 in 10 of the cases, more than $250 in 5 cases.

22 stolen autos. Three of these were in the 400 block of Ridge Street, and two in the 1100 block of 5^th Street.

28 thefts from autos (typically the most frequently reported crime). Four were in the 900 block of L Street, two in the 400 block of N Street, and 2 in the 500 block of L. The rest were scattered throughout the PSA.

Overall, the location with the most crimes was the 1300 block of 7^th (no surprise there) with nine reported cases. There were five in the 1100 block of 5^th, and four each in the 1500 block of Marion, 400 block of N, 400 block of Ridge (incl. the corner of Ridge and 5^th), and the 900 block of L.

According to the police stats, overall the number of both violent and property crimes is down 16% compared with the same period last year. If it doesn’t seem that way, it’s probably because of all the gunfire seen and heard in the neighborhood since the beginning of the year, which tends to trump the official numbers for most people.

Of course, all crimes are worrisome, but I think most people are most concerned with those that involve major bodily injury or the threat thereof, particularly when firearms are used. So here’s my list of the crime reports that seem to me to be the most serious. (The number in parens starting with “7” is the police case number, where applicable.):

--2/3, ADW with gun (shooting), 1300 block of 7^th, 15 y/o girl hit [actually happened on 2/2] (7015696);

--2/23, Robbery with gun, 600 block of L, (7023818);

--3/12, Robbery with gun, 1800 block of 6^th, (7031687);

--3/19, Robbery with gun, 700 block of N, (7035030);

--4/3, Robbery with gun, 400 block of M, (7042621);

--4/4, Robbery with gun, 1200 block of 6^th, (7042750);

--4/16, ADW with gun (shooting), 1300 block of 7^th, 22 y/o male hit (7048668)

--5/12, ADW with gun (shooting), man shot in drive-by at 9^th and P (PSA 307, 062-373)

The following were reported in blogs and list serves, but don’t show up on the police stats; so I can’t vouch for accuracy. Please let me know about mistakes or omissions:

--2/10, shots heard near 7^th and Q

--3/27, new bullet holes seen at Kelsey Gardens at 7^th and Q (site of January homicide)

--4/2, shots heard fired near 6^th and P/Q/Marion

--4/21-22, shots fired off (into the air?) around 7^th and N

--4/23, shots fired (?), 500 block of Q, street blocked off with police tape

--5/1, shots heard fired near 5^th and N

--5/2, shots heard vicinity of 5^th and M (also heard at 11^th and M)

--5/6, shooting at 7^th and O, 2 males hit but uncooperative with police

--5/11, shots fired near Marion and Q

--5/13, gunshots heard in 400 block of Ridge

Bottom line: I think there has been some improvement since that horrendous January spree, but the recent trend is pretty troubling because the shootings seem to be picking up again.

The Ayatollah of Lynchburg is Dead

2007-05-15T15:51:00.000-07:00

Shall we shed a fake tear for Jerry Falwell, a man who devoted his life to trying to make "Christian" a synonym for bigotry and greed. Who thought apartheid was pretty neat. Who said 9/ll was God's punishment for gays and feminists. I know it's tacky to speak ill of the dead, but it's really hard to think of anything good to say about this man. Maybe he liked children and small furry animals.

There should be a special circle of hell for those who use religion to promote hate. If so, I can think of a few more who belong there. Jerry's waiting for you, Pat.

I can hardly wait to hear the smarmy eulogies from the Republican candidates.

Interview with 1301 7th Manager

2007-05-08T15:24:00.000-07:00

If you haven't already seen it, be sure to check out the very interesting video interview with the manager of 1301 7th Street about the recent shooting on Kevin Chapple's site. Some illuminating details as well as a little different perspective about what's happening and what to do about it. Kudos to Martin (I'm guessing that's who did the interview) for doing this.

Another ANC Meeting, Another Meltdown

2007-05-03T19:20:00.000-07:00

I went home after the meeting too disgusted and depressed to write anything. If you weren’t there, check out the video at ANC2C02,

and MVSNA President Cary Silverman has provided an excellent recap and thoughtful comments here. About the only good thing to say about it is that the videotaping issue finally seems to be settled.

A few additional thoughts, for what they’re worth.

--Jack Evans’s intervention didn’t work—to state the obvious. The four commissioners reportedly had agreed on two things: 1) to distribute documents to be approved at the meeting (such as minutes, reports, etc.) to all the commissioners before the meeting so they would not have to be read and considered during the meeting, and 2) to elect Kevin Chapple as secretary, replacing Barbara Curtis. The first item—besides just being common courtesy—is absolutely normal routine procedure in any functioning organization; what possibly could be the objection to it? The second item would likely result in a great improvement in record-keeping since, as things stand, no one except the ANC commissioners ever sees the minutes and Kevin is already acting as the de facto public rapporteur for the ANC through his website and newsletter. When the time came, however, Doris Brooks reneged on both. The reelection of the Secretary never even came up. The ball was in the Thorpe/Brooks court, and they effectively told Jack Evans to take a flying leap.

--The poor, hapless Shaw Main Streets representative never had a chance. Personally, I couldn’t care less if they put up the banners or not (or what color they are), but for goodness sake, what harm would they do? But that’s not what this was about. SMS is Alex Padro’s baby, so Leroy Thorpe is automatically against it—whatever it is. Thorpe’s ludicrous accusations about “clandestine meetings” and the complaint that SMS doesn’t communicate with the community are nonsense. I have no connection to SMS, but I’ve attended two public meetings over the past year or so, which I learned about through flyers distributed throughout the neighborhood, not through the SMS website, which I rarely look at. Notices about events are posted in stores and other visible locations, so if you don’t know what SMS is doing, it’s your own fault. (By contrast, I have never yet seen an ANC2C or ECCA flyer left on my block.)

--I’m tired of being tagged with collective guilt for something I have nothing to do with. At every single ANC meeting (and ECCA, for that matter), several people (usually the same ones) get up and start denouncing newcomers/white people (as if they were one and the same) for attitudes that they all allegedly hold. The accusations are always so vague and non-specific that it is impossible to answer them. This happens because those running the meeting encourage it; it does not happen in meeting of other groups even when the same people are present. Here’s the thing: I take responsibility for what I say and do. If you have a problem with something I said or did, let’s talk, and if I’m wrong I’ll do my best to make it right. But don’t assume you know what someone else thinks just because they may fit some category in your mind. And don’t stand up and make vague accusations against a whole class of people and then complain about divisiveness in the community.

--Windy Rahim’s emotional departure speech was partly right: We got the ANC we elected. But she was wrong in one respect: We did not elect a Parliamentarian/Special Assistant who is still the de facto Chairperson. You gotta hand it to Leroy Thorpe—he has done what he said he was going to do after he didn’t get re-elected. But his actions indicate that he places his own ego-tripping before the welfare of the community. Denise Murray lamented last night that she’s still trying to get lights in the park at NJ and O, but let’s not forget that as ANC Chairman last summer, Mr. Thorpe opposed an initiative to do just that simply because it had been spearheaded by Mount Vernon Square without going through him first. To me, that says a lot about where his priorities lie.

ANC Meeting Tonight--Promises Made to be Broken?

2007-05-02T10:22:00.000-07:00

If you haven't already, be sure to check out Kevin Chapple's post regarding Monday's meeting of the elected ANC commissioners with Jack Evans--and Doris Brooks' subsequent backpedalling from promises she made at the meeting.

Let's give Jack some due credit for taking this initiative. I would say that if Ms. Brooks does not deliver on her promises, then that should be sufficient to cause Jack to intervene as threatened. Again, thanks to Kevin for keeping the community informed about all this.

ANC2C meeting tonight at Africare (we think), 440 R Steet NW, at 6:30. Be there!

Save the Queen

2007-04-26T20:06:00.000-07:00

The hearing before the Alcohol Beverage Regulation Administration to rule on the liquor license for the Queen of Sheba Restaurant is May 2. The rules permit only those opposing the license to testify, but written expressions of support from neighborhood residents are likely to help. It may be too late to mail it in, but you can fax your supporting letter to:

Charles A. Burger, Chairman
Alcohol Beverage Regulation Administration
941 N. Capitol Street, NE, Suite 7200
Washington, DC 20002
FAX: 202-727-4052

[UPDATE: Here's an alternative FAX number, in case you couldn't get through: 202-442-9563. Thanks, Erich.]

I mailed and faxed mine today. Slum Historique has posted a good template containing the key points, which you can use as a start and has also written up some of the background here.

Queen of Sheba (1503 9th Street, NW) is a great asset to the neighborhood and deserves our vocal support, particularly since the opposition to its liquor license appears to be a one-woman campaign waged by Mary Sutherland for no discernible good reason. This is an attractive sit-down restaurant serving excellent Ethiopian food, not some dive whose patrons would staggering out into the streets and dumping their litter on the sidewalk. I just heard that the restaurant owner reported that Ms. Sutherland had been by to harass him. Outrageous.

So let's help these good people out. A liquor license can be the difference between success and failure for a new restaurant, and the neighborhood needs more quality business ventures like Queen of Sheba.

And if you haven't been there to try the food, this weekend would be a great time to treat yourself. You can't get a beer yet, but they have some terrific mango smoothies.

And fax in your support on Friday!

WJLA on a Roll

2007-04-25T20:39:00.000-07:00

Well, hats off to Steven Tschida of Channel 7 for the Shiloh story (clip here). Shining a spotlight on this problem is long overdue. Good job Alex and Drew! At least someone's articulate on camera.

My Five Seconds on Channel 7

2007-04-25T16:01:00.000-07:00

Just saw the clip (here) after I got home from work. One of those cringe-inducing moments when you see what you actually look like.

Here's what really happened:

WJLA reporter Steve Tschida picks up on the DCist post about Shaw being the 2nd most blogginest neighborhood in the country, and sets out with his cameraman cruising our lovely streets looking for one of those hip, young bloggers. He waylays my neighbor, who outs me as a blogger, and they knock on my door. I happen to be home, having just dropped my mother off at National Airport, and answer the door while putting on my tie to go to work. I'm probably not exactly what they're looking for, being neither young nor hip, but they're on a deadline, so they'll take what they can get.

I agree to talk on camera, but am flustered because I'm late and totally unprepared with anything to say. He asks me the most obvious possible question ("Why so many blogs in Shaw?"), and I answer--basically--"Duh." Soon it's obvious that they're really just after the crime angle, so I gather my wits a little and point out that despite that extraordinary stolen bicycle footage, local bloggers aren't really a bunch of vigilantes taking pictures out their windows of crime in the street. I add that the blogs have really increased residents' awareness of what's happening in the neighborhood, not just crime, but lots of other issues--in my mind the biggest contribution they have made.

Then they want some action shots at the computer. I'm not sure what to do--posting some zingy comment isn't too exciting on screen, so I start scrolling through most of the Shaw blogs. Looks like they picked up shots of "In Shaw" and "Off Seventh". Then that was that.

Tschida hung around a little more, and I made a couple of suggestions about stories that they might cover that would be a lot more indicative of what's going on in Shaw. He might actually be interested because he lives just a few blocks away near Logan. Maybe, maybe not.

I have learned from sad experience that reporters almost never pick the parts of the interview you wish they would, so you just hope they won't pick the parts that make you look the dumbest. In this case, I think it's a shame that they made Shaw sound so much worse, crime-wise, than it actually is. That, by the way, was their spin--they didn't get it from me. And I wish they would have picked up on some of the other, more positive, aspects about life here that appear in the blogs.

Still, I guess it's always a bit of a thrill to be on TV--otherwise why would all those squealing throngs stand out in the cold and rain for the Today Show? Actually, this was the second time I've been on WJLA. I won a little money on Jeopardy back in the 90s, and it was amazing--people would actually recognize and stop me on the street. But alas, fame is fleeting, and soon no one was offering sexual favors for an autograph any more. ;-) Not expecting that kind of response from this. Sic transit gloria mundi.

ANC2C02 Meeting

2007-04-19T11:49:00.000-07:00

Don't forget the meeting ANC Commissioner Kevin Chapple has scheduled for 7:00 tonight at the Kennedy Recreation Center for his single member district. He has a very interesting agenda planned (for full info go here). Particularly if you have issues regarding nuisance properties, a representative from DCRA will be there to field questions.

Nothing Doing for Fire Victims

2007-04-18T18:55:00.000-07:00

Today I stopped by the business office of the Washington Apartments to ask if there was any fund or location where donations to help the victims of this week's fire could go. The answer I got was a "no". The woman I spoke to even seemed a bit surprised by my question.

I also asked what happened to the people who had had to leave because of the fire, and she just told me that they had been accommodated elsewhere. No further information.

So, I guess if the Red Cross isn't doing anything for these folks, as MVSNA has reported, then we seem to have reached a dead end, as far as neighborly support is concerned.

Crime Fighters Notebook

2007-04-17T18:07:00.000-07:00

A friend and neighbor sent the following suggestion:

Regarding the neighbors in the 400 block of N Street NW who watched two perps stealing their bicycle ... and the failure of DC 911 to respond appropriately ... I offer the following:
Patrick here -- your neighbor cross the alley, 5 doors to the West with the bamboo.
I'm very sorry to hear this -- both the loss of your property and the continuing disappointment with DC services.
You are not alone. 911's ignorance caused me great pain years ago -- but that's another story.
SUGGESTIONS for DISCUSSION: I strongly recommend we all have bright back yard lights -- mine are motion-sensitive.
Claxon / Airhorn / Marine horn. I recommend we all arm ourselves with something much more effective than firearms. Cheap, Loud, Persistent airhorns. Widely available. Marine supplies sell the strongest, loudest.
It's midnight. You see the perps entering your yard. Your lights come on. Partner dials 911 [Always say, regardless of the truth, "He's got a gun and I heard one shot" Give the cross streets and hang up.], you run to the window: BLLLLAAAAAAAATTTTT!!!!!
Sure, It will annoy the rest of us. But I'll join you at my window: BLLLLLAAATTT!!! And then the next one ... and the next one. The perp is challenged, the police informed, the venue identified by sound and light, and perhaps the property saved.
OK, folks ... tell me why this won't work!
Patrick on Ridge Street.

Well, guys...what do you think? Doesn't sound like a bad idea to me.

Another shooting?

2007-04-16T20:02:00.000-07:00

A neighbor called about 10:20 tonight saying that he'd heard maybe 20 gunshots (somewhere in the vicinity of 6th and P). I looked outside and the streets were full of police cars. A little later I saw an ambulance heading west on O Street. Still lots of sirens half an hour later. Anyone have any definite information about what happened?

UPDATE: This information from Insp. Burke of MPD 3rd Dist.:

At approximately 10 p.m., three black males wearing dark “hoodies” and armed with handguns, approached the complainant and fired at him – striking him in the leg. The complainant was admitted to [the hospital] in Stable condition. The CCTV did capture the incident and footage has been downloaded for review by our detectives’ office. The complainant, who lives on McCullough Ct. did not provide a motive for the shooting. There were numerous shell cases located on the scene – which corroborates the many accounts of gunshots. We’ll provide more details as they become available; Thanks for your patience.

This is from Cpt. McCoy: On Monday night at 10:20 PM a 22 year old male was shot in the leg in front of 1301 7th St., N.W. An MPD off duty was just inside the building and immediately requested assistance. Another MPD officer was conducting a building check across the street at 1330 7th St. and immediately responded to assist. As reported, there were numerous other officers assigned to the area and joined in a canvass for 3 black male subjects that were scene leaving the area. The injury sustained to the victim was non-life threatening. Anyone with information is asked to call 202-727-9099. Refer to Report Number CCN 048-668.

I know we all appreciate the information, and of course the quick police response. What I find pretty amazing is that the shooters would have the brass to try this with police presence virtually on the scene. (Of course, we don't know if this was plainly evident or not at the time.)

Fire Last Night

2007-04-13T09:54:00.000-07:00

Several apartments in the Washington Apartments in the 1300 block of 6th Street were destroyed in a major fire last night about 1:00 a.m. According to news reports, about 40 residents have been displaced. The picture is the scene this morning after the fire. (See Life in Mt. Vernon Square for more pictures.)

I was wondering if anyone Knows if there is any neighborhood effort to help out the folks who have lost their homes and possessions and/or have had to move out temporarily?

Open Letter to Jack Evans, David Catania, and Phil Mendelson

2007-04-07T08:05:00.000-07:00

I sent the following letter to Council members Evans, Catania, and Mendelson:

Dear Councilmember:

I am writing to you because ANC2C has completely broken down and clearly requires some outside intervention if it is to become even minimally functional. What we are seeing is a pattern of petty vindictiveness and indifference to the interests of the community that has left citizens frustrated and angry and brought the business of the ANC to a standstill.

As you may know, the April 4 ANC meeting was abruptly cancelled by Chairperson Doris Brooks after several residents refused to accept her unilateral prohibition of videotaping the meeting. Ms. Brooks asserted that the United House of Prayer did not permit camera or video recording even though permission to record there had been obtained in advance of the meeting. In the end, a representative of the church (of which Ms. Brooks is a prominent member) deferred to her demand. Ms. Brooks had changed the venue of the meeting from its normal location at Africare (specifically voted upon at the January ANC meeting). No reason for the change was provided, but it may well have been because Africare would not prohibit recording of the meetings there.

Neither Ms. Brooks nor her executive assistant and parliamentarian, Leroy Thorpe, has provided any reason for prohibiting video or audio recording of the meetings, which is clearly permissible in what should be an open, public meeting. Their repeated efforts to prohibit recording are a carry-over from Mr. Thorpe’s tenure as Chairman, when he would confront anyone who attempted to do so. Since last year’s election, several residents (I am not one of them) have decided to exercise this right despite such attempts at intimidation. There is an evident public interest in disseminating the recordings via the internet, since only a small percentage of residents are able to attend the meetings, and the ANC itself makes virtually no effort to make any record of its proceedings available to the public. Similarly, Ms. Brooks has refused to permit the creation of a website for the ANC (even at no cost), but has given no reason for her opposition.

The April cancellation followed on the heels of Ms. Brooks’ sudden cancellation of the March meeting. She has yet to give any public explanation for that, refusing to respond to inquiries as to the reason. I have heard unofficially that the reason was ostensibly because Commissioner Barbara Curtis was unable to attend because of a family emergency. Even if that were the case, this was not an adequate reason for cancelling the meeting since the other three members were apparently available and would have constituted a quorum.

Ms. Brooks has reportedly failed to file required ANC Security Fund forms and pay the participation fee, even though this had been authorized by a rare unanimous vote at the January meeting. Perhaps the problem is that before Mr. Thorpe left office, she was named both Chairperson and Treasurer, and the checks require two signatures. (Ms. Curtis was named to the other two statutory offices: Vice-Chairperson and Secretary.)

This, in turn, is part of a largely successful effort by Mr. Thorpe to subvert the results of the 2006 election and continue to run the ANC with Ms. Brooks as a figurehead. During the meetings, Ms. Brooks continually defers to Mr. Thorpe’s instructions, consults with him in whispers inaudible to others in the room, and frequently allows him to run the meetings and decide who is recognized to speak. She has made Mr. Thorpe’s personal telephone number the official number for the ANC. She treats commissioners Padro and Chapple in an abusive manner and consistently thwarts any initiative they make. If Ms. Curtis shows any sign of voting with them, Mr. Thorpe or Ms. Brooks directs her to change her vote. The conduct of the meetings makes a mockery of any accepted rules of order. But don’t take my word for it—watch the videos.

In an effort to try to overcome this impasse, Gottlieb Simon suggested an informal meeting among the four commissioners to discuss disagreements and grievances on March 28. Mr. Padro had another commitment, but the other three commissioners agreed to the meeting. Mr. Chapple and Ms. Curtis arrived for the meeting as scheduled, but Ms. Brooks never showed up. Unfortunately, this seems to be indicative of her lack of interest in making the ANC actually work.

There may be other ANCs in the city worse than this one, but I don’t know of any. I want to emphasize that the great preponderance of responsibility for this situation rests squarely with Mr. Thorpe and Ms. Brooks. Mr. Chapple, in particular, has made efforts to cooperate and find ways to resolve disputes, but his overtures have been repeatedly spurned. Without some willingness to compromise on the part of the Chairperson and her executive assistant, nothing will get accomplished. There is no intrinsic reason why power and responsibilities within this ANC couldn’t be shared, but their evident intention is to make sure that does not happen. So we remain at a hostile stalemate.

As I’m sure you know, Shaw is a neighborhood with serious problems and tensions. I am convinced that the vast majority of residents of this ANC want nothing more than to live in harmony with their neighbors and to work with each other and with District authorities to remedy the crime and neglect that continue to plague this area. But we need leaders who will work to overcome suspicions and tensions within the community, rather than exploit them for their own purposes. This is a seriously dysfunctional ANC that desperately needs an intervention from someone who will use his moral authority, influence, and oversight capabilities to talk some sense into its officers. I hope that you can step up and assume that role.

ANC2C Meeting Cancellation

2007-04-04T19:21:00.000-07:00

I got to the meeting about 15 or 20 minutes late only to discover it had been canceled. I was told the reason was Chairperson Brooks had posted signs prohibiting videotaping and some residents had refused to accept that edict. So she called off the whole meeting. A video of this is now available here.

I don't know if it's possible anymore, but I sure wish we could de-escalate this dispute. I have no doubt that the people who want to record a public ANC meeting are within their rights, and I simply don't understand why Ms. Brooks is willing to go to such lengths to prohibit that. But this is going nowhere. Is there no one who could mediate this mess?

On an even more disturbing note, Ray Milefsky sent out the following e-mail (it's already up on Off Seventh, so I'm not betraying any privacy here):

I just had a very long, no-holds-barred conversation on a wide variety
of topics with Mr Thorpe and Ms Sutherland after the cancelled ANC
meeting. I have known them for twenty years. We may not be busom
buddies or see eye-to-eye on a whole lot but we respect one another as neighbors, have endured much together, and know the lay of the land a
heck of a lot better than many newcomers.

I was very, very upset to hear their repeated reference to some
dog-owning neighbor saying last Saturday that his/her dog(s) is/are
cleaner than most Black kids. They implied the resulting response
verged on a riot.

What is the story? Who would be so stupid to say something like this?
Did it ever occur or is this neighborhood folk legend? This is more
than crude and vile disrepect. Why have the blogs, which chitchat
about everything, leave out this matter that will destroy what little
good will that exists among the diverse interests in this
neighborhood.

Is anyone willing to comment?

This is indeed very upsetting, and I literally felt ill after reading it. If someone actually said this, it is inexcusable and despicable. If this story is made up, then it's just as bad, because it means someone is willing to put out an incendiary falsehood to inflame racial animosity for some reason. Unfortunately, once a story like this gets out there, it's virtually impossible to set right.

I should say that I also had a fairly extended and friendly conversation with Ms. Sutherland after the meeting and she did not mention this to me. What she did say, more than once, is that "the bridge is broken and it doesn't look like it's going to be fixed ." Sadly, I'm afraid she may be right about that. I guess I'm still hoping that someone will decide to take the high road here and put the interests of the community first.

Republicans to DC: Drop Dead

2007-03-22T15:40:00.000-07:00

Do Republicans hate DC more than they love guns? Or is it the other way around? Or both equally? Missing no opportunity to show their contempt for the Old Plantation, Republican congressmen derailed the House vote on the DC voting rights bill by introducing an amendment tying that to repeal of the DC gun control law. Maybe we should change the slogan on the license plates to "No representation without guns and ammunition."

Well, Shrub was probably going to veto the bill anyway, so this is basically just a gratuitous thumb in the eye. Actually, am I the only one who's a little embarrassed at all the groveling being done to get a bill passed that will still leave District residents second class citizens by keeping us unrepresented in the Senate? Maybe it's better to remain unrepresented and aggrieved.

It does seems that some folks like to screw with DC just because they can. Hope everyone saw the WaPo article on Sunday about the man--not a DC resident and not a gun owner--who organized and bankrolled the suit against the DC gun control law. Just a matter of principle, you see. So he searched out six people with suitable demographic attributes to be the plaintiffs. Just saying...

Comment Policy

2007-03-15T19:44:00.000-07:00

I have previously asked that all commenters provide a name to identify themselves--a first name and last initial, or a first initial and last name, or both. The reason for this is that it tends to reduce the flame factor. I get lazy about enforcement or just don't bother because I'm the only one being slammed, but I'm hereby serving notice. I welcome comments whether critical or approving, but identify yourself, please.

Last Gun-related Post (for now, anyway)

2007-03-15T19:24:00.000-07:00

A number of commenters on the previous two posts have basically told me I don’t know what I’m talking about, citing certain statistics and studies that supposedly prove that we’d all be safer if everyone carried a gun. I certainly wouldn’t claim expertise on the subject, so I was interested to read the op-ed piece in this morning’s WaPo co-authored by Police Chief Cathy Lanier, who one must assume does have considerable expertise. If you haven’t already, I’d suggest you read it.

I’m not totally uninformed on the subject, however, nor am I so naïve as to think arguments can change the mind of true believers. But in fact there are volumes of writings on both sides of the issue, and I think it’s fair to say that neither one is a slam dunk (though I obviously find one side more persuasive). So if you want to dive into these murky waters, you could do worse than to start with the Wikipedia articles on “Gun Violence in the US” and “Gun Politics”, which lay out the major arguments and evidence with sources cited.

And for extra credit, class: Here’s a DOJ paper on the demographics of gun violence. Here’s another DOJ paper (from the Ashcroft years) on a program tried in St. Louis to get guns off the street. Here’s a Johns Hopkins study on strategies for reducing gun violence. Here’s a UN paper giving comparative crime statistics for countries around the world. (Homicide rates in the US are 2 to 4 times those in other developed countries in western Europe, Canada, Japan, and Australia.)

The leading academic proponent of the “guns make us safer” school is Gary Kleck, author of Point Blank: Guns and Violence in America. He argues that many crimes are prevented because their intended victims have guns. Other researchers such as SUNY criminologist David McDowell have challenged his methodology and find far less evidence of that. Another key figure in the debate is Arthur Kellermann, who studied data on firearm related killings and injuries resulting from robberies, burglaries, and domestic violence. He concluded that having a gun on the home represented a greater risk overall of homicide than the protection it offered against intruders. His findings have also been challenged, though even Kleck has conceded that the likelihood of homicide in the home by an invading stranger is much less that that of one involving domestic violence. And so it goes.

Personally, I don’t think the macro crime statistics prove very much one way or the other, but if you’re inclined to delve into that sort of thing, the FBI publication Crime in the United States can give you all the crunchable numbers you could want. Here are a few nuggets from the 2005 report (the most recent completed one):

--In 2005, there were 14,860 homicides in the US, 10,100 of which were by firearm, and 7,543 by handgun.

--Of 8,136 cases in which the relationship of the killer to the victim was known, 1823 of the victims were family members, 4234 were other known persons (acquaintance, neighbor, girlfriend, etc.), and 2070 were strangers to the killer.

--63% of the victims were between the ages of 17 and 34.

--Out of 9,251 cases where the circumstance of the killing was known, 11% occurred during a robbery, burglary or car theft; 45% occurred because of a romantic triangle, a booze- or drug-fueled brawl, or other argument (the last accounts for 42%)

--Just 1% of homicides by firearm by a private citizen were considered justifiable homicide.

Here are the violent crime rates (crimes/100K population) for DC and some other major eastern cities:

Washington, DC 1401

Richmond 1221

Baltimore 1755

Boston 1318

Philadelphia 1467

Detroit 2357

Atlanta 1675

Miami 1580

Newark 1003

New York 673

St. Louis 2405

If you can find a consistent correlation between those figures and strict/permissive gun laws, you see more than I do. New Jersey and New York are pretty restrictive; Virginia, Florida, and Georgia pretty permissive; other places in the middle. As for Texas, the ur-guntotin’ state, the figures are 1254 for Dallas and 1172 for Houston, but they’re not really comparable because those cities’ incorporated areas include vast suburban stretches that in the DC context would be like including everything inside the Beltway—which would, of course, bring the DC rate way down.

So do your homework and make up your own mind. As for me, I’m with Chief Lanier.

Gun Chat, continued

2007-03-14T12:49:00.000-07:00

The issue of gun control sure gets people going—witness the comments on my previous post. I once had a work colleague who would go all sputtery and splotchy-faced at the mere mention of the phrase “gun control”; co-workers would sometimes do it just for the show.

That’s not surprising, since the “right to bear arms” has become a kind of religion to a lot of people. It even has a sacred text—the Second Amendment—subject to radically different interpretations. And, like other religions encrusted with myth and fantasy, it is largely impervious to rational argument. But I still think we should try.

I have some familiarity with guns and, in fact, used to be a pretty good shot. (I still have my Junior NRA sharpshooter trophy to prove it.) I don’t necessarily think that all people should be denied the privilege (note the word) of owning one, but I think that privilege should be at least as controlled and regulated as the privilege of owning a car.

But truthfully, people who just love and fetishize guns scare me. I well remember how nervous I felt driving through the deep South in the 60s looking kind of hippie-ish and wondering if Bubba in the pickup with the gun rack might just decide to take a potshot at the “outside agitator”. And I’m white. “Easy Rider” wasn’t just fiction, and Martin was quite right to bring up the sordid history of how race is mixed up in this whole question.

Actually, I think that racial fears remain an unspoken element in the whole gun rights movement. I don’t know about all the plaintiffs in the DC case, but the ones I’ve seen pictured are all white, including the woman who wants a gun at the ready to protect her home in crime-ridden Georgetown. So many of the 2nd Amendment fundamentalists seem to live in monochromatic suburbs or exurbs where the chances of needing a gun to protect their homes (from what?) are about equal to being struck by lightning. (Yes, I know there are some black gun rights supporters, but they are not running the NRA.)

Sure it’s possible to construct a scenario where having a gun might keep you from being a crime victim—assuming you had instant access to a loaded gun and the bad guys didn’t already have the drop on you. But this kind of notion is mostly just fantasy, and the odds of a scenario in which that gun becomes part of some tragic mistake or is fired in a blind rage are a lot greater. And yes, it’s comically easy to flout the DC law by making a quick trip to Virginia or South Carolina for a gun buy with few if any questions asked. But that’s an argument for strengthening gun laws nationwide, not for gutting all gun control measures.

Because that’s what’s really at issue here. The gun lobby—led by the NRA—has consistently fought to overturn any restriction on gun ownership whatever, and the DC decision (though limited in its scope) will become relevant case law for that effort if it stands. They don’t just want you to be able to have a handgun in your home, they think you have the right to buy as many AK-47s as you want and take them anywhere you want. They have gotten legislation passed to indemnify gun manufacturers from liability for the consequences of their products—an immunity not shared by any other industry. This is sheer lunacy and contrary to any rational idea of a civilized society.

Which is why I’ll take whatever puny protections the DC gun laws provide. I really don’t want our neighborhood gangbangers to be able to carry guns legally. At least now, they can be arrested if caught packing, and this gives the police some leverage. It ain’t much, but it’s something.

Johnny Get Your Gun

2007-03-09T11:27:00.000-08:00

Looks like now you, too, can have a gun!

The US Court of Appeals has just overturned a February 2005 US District Court Ruling, thereby declaring the District ban on gun ownership to be unconstitutional. Haven’t seen details yet, but it was a 2-1 decision.

It’s probably too early to dash out to Virginia and buy a Glock—the decision will probably be appealed—but this seems like a big setback for gun control and a huge victory for NRA fans.

Coming from a place steeped in gun culture (Texas, God help me), I can’t help thinking this is a huge step backwards. Let’s face it, though, the whole idea of gun control seems so last century—does anyone even talk about it anymore? We see the news reports of gunshot deaths daily, but nobody bothers to make the connection between those statistics and the fact that this country is up to its eyeballs in guns. Even the Democrats run away from the issue these days.

Personally, I think anyone has the potential to be a killer—you just have to be angry enough—and the idea that you can divide the population into criminals (who shouldn’t be allowed to buy guns) and non-criminals (who should) is nonsense. If more people acquire guns, look for more domestic quarrels involving gunshots, more kids accidentally shooting each other with daddy’s pistol, and more weepy candlelight vigils on TV with grieving parents wondering how this could happen. Actually, the answer is pretty easy, but as long as there is no nationwide gun control and the NRA’s Rambo fantasy holds sway—that’s basically what we deserve.

Oh, and I imagine the cops won’t be too happy about this either. Something to think about for the next anti-crime rally.

ANC2C Meeting Cancelled

2007-03-06T18:01:00.000-08:00

Kevin Chapple's site and Slum Historique have also reported this, but might as well include it here, too: "This month's ANC 2C meeting, scheduled for Wednesday, March 7, 2007, has been canceled unilaterally by the chair, Doris Brooks. No other information is available at this time."

Well, I'm sure it's just because of the massive snow storm that's predicted.

Shaw, Hot "Gay Ghetto"

2007-03-04T12:50:00.000-08:00

We saw the "open house" sign today at the gorgeous 2-unit condo at 5th and Q, so we went in to take another peek. (They've dropped the price by an astonishing amount, BTW; the upper unit with the killer roof deck is now listed at a mere $985K, down from $1.2M! Just in case you were wondering if the bubble has deflated.) But I digress.

Among the hand-outs were copies of the Feb. 21 issue of the Northwest Current (a free paper covering upper NW--content not on-line, apparently), which has an article about Shaw and a website called GayGhettos.com citing Shaw as one of the 20 or so "top emerging gay ghettos" in the country (but in a good way, of course). The site notes that "where the gays go eventually so do higher property values, less crime, better schools, ethnic diversity and growth."

The Current article prominently quotes Alex Padro and Drew Porterfield (partner of a fellow blogger at "Slum Historique"), who put a generally positive spin on neighborhood acceptance of gays, while noting the BeBar controversy. It notes, however, that "some residents are far from warm to the idea of Shaw being recognized by a gay Web site."

The article quotes ANC commissioner Barbara Curtis as saying: "They didn't ask me 'cause I'm not friendly with it...To each his own, if that's the life they want to live, fine. The only thing I object to is them coming in, taking over the property that seniors and poor people have and can't afford once [gay people] come in." She added that "quite a few" of her neighbors share her feelings.

I think I'll defer discussion of that point for another time.

Jack Evans Responds

2007-02-27T14:00:00.000-08:00

In the interest of fairness, here's an excerpt from a response from Councilman Jack Evans's office to points raised in e-mails sent by several neighborhood residents (including your humble blogger) about last week's "crime forum":

"1) Our office gave Mr. Moulton permission to videotape the meeting at the United House of Prayer. Our contact for using the building is Doris Brooks. When Mr. Moulton got there with his equipment, Ms. Brooks informed him that he could not videotape the meeting. IF the meeting was held in a facility controlled by Councilmember Evans, i.e., the Wilson building, he would have been able to give the final word. Since it was Ms. Brooks who arranged use of the building for us, Mr. Evans was not abel to "overrule" her decision. We allowed Mr. Moulton to tape our Constieunt Fundraiser event becaus that decision was solely up to us. In the future we will be sure to find out the rules of the facility we're using to ensure an incident like this doesn't happen again.
"2) The meeting was hosted by Ward 2 Councilmember Jack Evans, ANC 2C and ECCA - it was at the top of the agenda if you were able to get a copy. Mr. Thorpe is the President of ECCA. Doris Brooks and Alex Padro are ANC commissioners. They all sat at the head table.
"3) When Mr. Evans began the meeting he recognized the members for both groups (ANC 2C and ECCA) and asked if Barbara and Kevin were present.....there was no response. Apparently, they both came late to the meeting. Ms. Curtis was identified by Windy Abdul-Rahim of our staff who tried to escort her to the front of the room....Ms. Curtis declined. Mrs. Rahim did not see Mr. Chapelle. I assure you if she had, she would have extended the same courtesy to him. Again, Mr. Evans recognized both Ms. Curtis and Mr. Chapelle and apparently, they were not present at the time. Mr. Chapelle had every right to come to the front of the room and had Mr. Evans known he'd shown up later, he was have invited him to do so. You were there, so you saw how many people were in attendance. Again, had we know he was there, he would have been escorted by Windy or invited by Jack to come up front, but he could have also just walked up and made his presence known."
Here's what I think about the response:
1. This might be an adequate explanation if there were no long-standing context of efforts by Mr. Thorpe and Ms. Brooks to prevent video recording of ANC meetings despite the absence of any legal prohibition against such recording of public meetings. Jack Evans's staffers are certainly well aware of this and he should have been as well. To acquiesce in Doris Brooks's prohibition of the recording makes it appear that he supports the Thorpe/Brooks position. If holding a public meeting with our mayor, councilman, and police chief in a private space means it no longer operates under the rules of a public meeting, then it should not be held in that space.
2. I did get a copy of the agenda, and the only non-DC government names on it were those of Leroy Thorpe and Doris Brooks. None of the other ANC commissioners were included. Again, there's context here--namely the maneuvering by Mr. Thorpe and his enabler, Ms. Brooks, to maintain defacto control over the ANC after losing an election. And again, Evans's staffers should be well aware of that. I can see no reason why this meeting (unlike the previous ones in June and September) needed to be "co-sponsored" at all. (Wondering whose idea that was...hmmm.) Giving Thorpe and Brooks equal billing with Jack Evans (and giving the other commissioners no billing) suggests--rightly or wrongly--that Evans supports their shenanigans.
3. Okay, okay, partial credit here. But if there is a head table, who sits there carries symbolic weight. Why weren't all of the commissioners invited beforehand to sit at the table? Mr. Thorpe's dubious credentials as "president" of the ECCA aside, I really have no problem with him being seated at the dais (assuming there needs to be one at all), but what about other (dare I say more active?) community associations? This was supposed to be a show of unity against crime, not a veiled political rally for one faction.

At least there seems to support for holding any other such meetings in a more neutral setting.

Howard Theatre

2007-02-24T06:48:00.000-08:00

I was watching Channel 4 news this morning and saw a nice segment on the Howard Theatre project, featuring our neighbor Lillian Gordon. She recounted her younger days as a chorus girl at the theatre, which then was perhaps the most prominent venue for African-American entertainers. Ms. Gordon demonstrated that she still has some moves. You go, girl! (Haven't found the video on line, maybe it's not up yet.)

The program on the Howard Theatre project is this afternoon (Sat., 2/25) at 3:00 at the old Carnegie Library/City Museum.

Jack Evans Meeting on Crime, 2/21

2007-02-21T19:14:00.000-08:00

Tonight's meeting on crime attracted a large number (I'd guess at least 150-200) community residents to the United House of Prayer--not surprising given the alarming increase in shootings in the community. Acting Police Chief Lanier spoke at some length, making what seem to be good points:

We cant just rely on statistics, but have to look at non-numeric indicators, like graffiti and general conditions in the area;
Police visibility has been increased and will remain so, but visibility isn't the answer for everything--some shootings have taken place within sight of fixed police posts;
There has been a shift of resources into Shaw and this will continue--it's not just a temporary fix;
The age of kids doing this stuff is very disturbing; there's a great need to engage them in positive activities;
People are not reporting what they see, and without that help there is much less that the police can do.

Mayor Fenty arrived late (about 6:40) and left early. I didn't think he had anything very interesting to say, but at least he was there to listen to some of the community comments and questions. Most of the latter were familiar to anyone who attended the last two meetings in June and September which were covered in previous posts here and elsewhere. One resident of 1330 7th made an impassioned plea for help from the city and MPD to get rid of residents at that and other properties who are engaged in crime, saying it simply takes too long. Some other issues mentioned included a growing rat problem in the neighborhood, and the need for programs for seniors. A representative of UHOP made another pitch for the city to sell the bleak little "park" at 7th and N to the church. Someone else said--to some applause--that people need to be placed ahead of dogs--presumably a reference to requests by some residents for a dog park.

I guess the meeting was useful as a indicator of neighborhood residents' increased concerns, and top level agency heads were all there to listen. Unfortunately, a lot of the time was consumed in introducing city and neighborhood notables and (thankfully fairly brief) speechifying. These meetings are looking more and more like political events for the folks on the dais.

Which is an interesting point, and seems to call for a sort of local version of old-school Kremlinology. Though supposedly organized by Jack Evans, the meeting was co-hosted by Leroy Thorpe (there as "President East Central Civic Association") and ANC Commissioner Doris Brooks, who as usual played second fiddle. As for the other ANC commissioners, Alex Padro managed a seat at the table (at the end) but neither Barbara Curtis nor Kevin Chapple were included. Chapple was not invited, as it turns out, nor was he recognized as being present in the audience (he was there), though at least a dozen other people were. Don't know about Curtis. The Mt. Vernon Square Neighborhood Association was not at the table either (nor has it been included at previous meetings), but the ECCA was. Go figure. Apparently, the crime problem isn't bad enough to get beyond this kind of pettiness.

Oh, yes. There probably won't be a video of the meeting. Commissioner Brooks told a resident who was setting up to record the meeting that this wasn't to be permitted, even though he had written permission from Evans' office to do so. Evans apparently caved when the moment came. What is with this videophobia?
(I did see one other resident with a videocamera, so maybe some of it will show up anyway.)

Chapple's SMD Meeting Tonight

2007-02-15T19:47:00.000-08:00

I'm sure ANC Commissioner Kevin Chapple's website will soon have a recap and video of the meeting for his single member district earlier tonight at the Kennedy Rec Center, so I won't attempt one here. But I do want to commend and thank him for taking this initiative and arranging for an informative and useful public forum. Let's hope this will be a continuing new tradition. Oh, and no one yelled at anyone.

A couple of observations:

Safe Shores, the organization that will be running the Childrens' Advocacy Center at Bundy School, seems to be a well-run and effective group and certainly seems unlikely to have any negative impact on the neighborhood. Demolition (all internal--no outside construction is planned) on the school could start within a couple of weeks but won't be finished until late summer 2008. The center will operate only during normal business hours, but will probably have a round-the-clock police presence in the building, since the detectives and other related agencies will be co-located there. Only the school site proper will be included in the project. I.e., this will not affect the Bundy playing field or the big parking lot in the rear of the school (on the P Street side), which belong the the US Government, not DC.

Here's a question: If the DC Parks and Recreation doesn't own Bundy playing field and the parking lot, why is that agency posting "no dogs allowed" signs there? Who actually administers the field? I guess my idea about using a slice of the parking lot area for a dog park (see earlier post) will have to be re-thunk.

The presentation on pedestrian safety got a lot of interest from folks at the meeting. DDOT official George Branyan explained that the Pedestrian Master Plan now being formulated is focusing mainly on improving safety and access (e.g., around construction sites). Questions about speed humps and other "traffic calming" measures should be directed to Chris Ziemann, the Ward 2 Traffic Planner (didn't get an e-mail address).

DC Greenworks is planning a community garden on 7th Street (next to Bread for the City) and is looking for volunteers and other community participation. A chance for frustrated apartment dwellers to get their hands dirty.

MPD Sgt. Penn talked about the increased presence in PSA 308 in response to the recent shootings. Apparently this increase is open-ended at this point, not just a short term thing. Much of this has been noted elsewhere, so I won't repeat it here. However, let me say that I think all of us appreciate the fact that we're getting a good response from the 3rd District, and some of it seems to be working. Sometimes criticism of the police may be justified, but sometimes we also see some genuine improvement and that deserved to be recognized. I get the impression that there is considerably more openness on the part of the police regarding interfacing with the public, and we should seize this opportunity. I think we'll get a lot better effect from working positively with our police officers than from constant bitching and confrontation. I'm hopeful that the Adopt-a-Block program will help with that, but still haven't seen anything tangible from that yet.

Also, check out the really interesting posts on the tour of the police command center at Mt. Vernon Sq. and the ANC2C02 sites. Cool stuff--wish I could have been there.

Again, you go, Kevin! Keep up the good work.

Adopt-a-Block

2007-02-13T18:45:00.000-08:00

Mt. Vernon Square has posted the names of the officers in PSA 308 and their block assignments. Also information about how to contact them by e-mail. This could be a promising program--let's try to make it work. Still lots of orphan blocks, however. Get in touch with Lt. Neal, if yours didn't make the list.

How About a Dog Park at Bundy School?

2007-02-10T07:42:00.000-08:00

Mt. Vernon Sq. has an informative post on plans for the Bundy School site at 429 O Street. Personally, I'm disappointed that the Planning Commission's vision for the site has been trashed, but it looks like a fait accompli so I guess we'll have to make the best of it.

Here's an idea: How about using some part of the parking lot in back of the school building to create a dog park? The lot is enormous, and there would be plenty of room to dedicate some of it for that purpose and still have lots of room for parking cars.

The Office of Property Management says it wants to include the community in plans for landscaping, etc., so why not take them at their word? This would be a valid community recreational use of the sort that was envisioned for the site, and would be one way for the neighborhood to get some use from the property.

Just to be clear: I'm not talking about the playing field next door, which is under DC Parks and Recreation. That would remain as is: in lousy condition and poorly utilized.

Chief Lanier Talks to Loganites

2007-02-09T06:29:00.000-08:00

In case you missed it, DCist posted an account of what MPD Chief-designate Lanier told the February meeting of Logan Circle neighbors. What she said should be of interest to us too.

If ANC2F can get the Chief to show up, why couldn't ANC2C? After all, our area has all the bang-bang going on. Or would that require some initiative on the Chairman's part? And maybe a more cooperative attitude toward the MPD?

ANC2C02 Newsletter--Fantastic!

2007-02-07T13:11:00.000-08:00

Kevin Chapple and his team have just put out their first newsletter for his single member district (though the info is for the entire neighborhood), and it's terrific. Check it out online here. I think he plans to distribute hard copy around the community as well.

This is a great idea and beautifully carried out. Congratulations to all concerned.

Don't forget the ANC meeting tonight at 6:30 the Africare Building on at 440 R Street. I can't make it myself tonight (unavoidable obligation) but look forward to getting a readout.