A DC Eviction is Not a Neighborhood Giveaway!

I once stumbled upon an eviction on 16th street..blocks from the White House. With TV camera rolling neighbors and passersby went through the family's belongings taking shoes, dresses, baby clothes, furniture, TV sets ...anything they wanted. Police drove by; but never stopped to inquire if this was theft or charity.

A similar scene took place recently on Sherman Avenue and was posted by a couple of bloggers.

" I see Wayan at DC Metblogs has already gotten some play on this but a reader has sent me some more photos and details on the situation. The reader writes:"This was the 2900 Block of Sherman Ave, b/t Harvard and Columbia. The blue house was evicted and the city emptied the entire house on the street, which turned into one large free-for-all. About 9:30 p.m., all the bags had been turned over and the trash was across three lanes of traffic. This prompted the police to get involved, and public works was called in. They sent 4 street sweepers, two dump trucks, a bull dozer, a dumpster loader and a crew of about 25. From 10 p.m. to 3:30 a.m., the city was cleaning up the street."and"It's a real shame what happened. The woman who used to live there died two (maybe it's three now) years ago, and left the house to her grandson. He and his cousin lived there with some other transient tenants, and I only know one guy who lived there the whole time in the basement....You should know all that trash was actually the dead grandmother's possessions. Family albums, pictures, antique furniture, collectibles, etc. -- all that was her is now gone and lost forever. "Very sad situation, indeed.
Posted by Prince of Petworth at 9/21/2007

DC Doctor Charged!

DC's Attorney General, Linda Singer today announced her office has filed an 18-count criminal complaint against Dr. Charles Hall, a physician employed by the District of Columbia Department of Health.


In a press release issued a short time ago the government alleges that Hall worked for two separate government agencies at the same time...and getting paid separately by both DC agencies from 2004 to 2006. The defendant turned himself in today.


The release says Hall is a physician who works as a Medical Officer for the Addiction Prevention Recovery Administration (APRA), an agency of the D.C. Department of Health (DOH).



In 2006, the Office of the Inspector General (OIG) received a complaint that Hall was simultaneously working for the Court Services and Offender Agency (CSOSA) during his regular APRA work hours.



Upon further investigation, OIG learned that Hall had a contract with CSOSA from 2004 to 2006 to manage and supervise a treatment clinic.



It is alleged that since APRA and CSOSA are located on the same grounds, Hall would report to work at APRA and then leave and go work at CSOSA during the day for between one to eight hours.



It is further alleged that Hall engaged in these activities from September 2004 until October of 2006, defrauding the District of Columbia of approximately $12,240.22. The Office of Attorney General charged Dr. Hall with 18 counts of False Representations.



We can assume Doctor Hall has been required to give up both jobs and part of any criminal proceeding will see the government seek to recover its losses. We'll keep you posred.

Anybody Want a Puppy?

PUPPIES GALORE!
The Washington Animal Rescue League Proffers Plenty of Puppies

WASHINGTON, D.C. —September 27, 2007—At a time of year when puppies are generally rare and shelters are filled with older animals, The Washington Animal Rescue League (WARL) finds itself in the unusual situation of having 34 dogs for adoption who are under four months of age. Among the varieties available are pugs, shepherds, Labrador retrievers, a puggle (pug mixed with beagle) and even Catahoula leopard dogs!

Many of the dogs originated in the South, where the normal breeding season for dogs is longer. They were brought to WARL through its ShARE (Shelter Animal Relief Effort) Program, which assists overwhelmed shelters by transferring animals unlikely to be adopted where they are to its newly renovated facility.

Each dog at WARL, including every puppy, is comprehensively evaluated for health and temperament prior to being made available for adoption.

Wrecking ball on it's way!

DEMOLITION OF Tenley-Friendship
Neighborhood Library Set for October 1
Community Meetings on Preliminary Library Design Plans to Be Held Days Later

(Washington, DC) The District of Columbia Public Library (DCPL) announced today that the demolition of the Tenley-Friendship Neighborhood Library has been scheduled for Monday, October 1, 2007 at 1 pm. Two days later on Wednesday, October 3 at 6 pm, DCPL will host a second round of community meetings at the Tenley Friendship Neighborhood Interim Library concerning the design and construction of a permanent library.

DC Republican Committee Goes After Evans

The DC Republican Party is trying to become a bigger player in this one party town where they are outnumbered by Democrats by a near 10 to 1 margin. In their latest release they claim Ward Two DC Councilman Jack Evans, Chair the Finance and Revenue Committee has a conflict of interest in working for a well connected downtown law firm that does business with the city.

Here's the press release, dated September 26, 2007
For Immediate Release

Contact: Paul D. Craney
Ph: (202) 289-8005

Jack Evans Gets Paid $332,500
for Double Dipping DC Taxpayers

Washington, DC - City Records show that DC Council member Jack Evans (Ward 2-Democrat) was paid $92,500 as a council member and reported earning a Patton Boggs salary in 2006 of $240,000 a year, a raise of more than $50,000 above what the firm paid him in 2005. Mr. Evans is chairman of the D.C. Council's committee on finance, overseeing the D.C. Office of the Chief Financial Officer, which is handling the lobbying contract.

Mr. Evan's defense is that he doesn't vote on issues pertaining to Patton Boggs as a Council member. The only catch is that DC Council has never voted on a Patton Boggs contract because the contract does not exceed $1 million a year.

"Mr. Evans is the Chair of a committee on DC Council who oversees lobbying contracts all while working for a lobbying firm who benefits from a lucrative DC lobbying contract. Mr. Evans' actions clearly demonstrate a conflict of interest that taints our political system for personal gain," stated DC Republican Committee Chairman Robert Kabel.

By phone Wednesday afternoon Councilman Evans told me that he "cannot comment on anything having to do with Patton Boggs.

Still on the subject of Patton Boggs;

The Washington Times is reporting that "Lobbyists are billing the D.C. government up to $800 an hour and stand to collect nearly $1 million in fees since Congress decided in 2003 to permit the District to lobby the federal government."

Invoices obtained by The Washington Times through the Freedom of Information Act show lobbyists bill the city for a range of services — from seeking federal funds for transportation and health care to writing and editing testimony for Delegate Eleanor Holmes Norton and meeting with other lobbyists.

"We've helped the District expand its influence," said Edward Newberry, a Patton Boggs LLP lobbyist for the District. He said the firm has helped secure $80 million to $90 million in federal funds for the city, including money for the District's South Capitol Street bridge project.
Mrs. Norton questioned that assessment.

"Perhaps Patton Boggs has been helpful to the District, but she can see no evidence that Patton Boggs lobbying has assisted D.C. bills," said Doxie A. McCoy, a spokeswoman for Mrs. Norton, a Democrat.

Doing Business With the DC Government?

I can recall years ago going to the DC Consumer and Regulatory Affairs Office and with a TV camera rolling....getting down on my knees to retrieve records and drawings that had spilled out of drawers onto the floor and behind the cabinets.

The rotary phones are long gone and computers have been doing the work of hundreds for years now; A lot of what I need can be retrieved online;

but the agency is still not where it needs to be according to business people and contractors who show up there.


The Department of Consumer and Regulatory Affairs (DCRA) recently launched a new customer-service focused telephone system.

Here's what the press release says "Faster access to crucial information is a hallmark of DCRA's new system. More customers will be able to get through to the agency because the system handles a much higher call volume. Menu prompts smoothly guide customers through DCRA's many functions including, licensing, corporate registration, commercial and residential housing inspection requests and permits."

"The menu prompts contain prerecorded information answering some of the most-asked questions District residents and businesses have about DCRA. Calls are more quickly routed to relevant areas. "

"After more than a year of hard work to bring this system online, DCRA now ranks among the top 20 DC agencies in handling call performances," said Linda Argo, Acting Director of DCRA.Argo.

The new system significantly increased the customer experience and internal productivity. In October 2006, DCRA answered 93 percent of calls; that rate has increased to almost 100 percent since the new system's launch. Call volume increased from an average of 200 calls per day to an average of 300 calls per day.

I'm anxious to hear from real callers on how the new phone system is working. email me at bjohnson@wusa9.com

Bringing DC Youth to the Table

Chairman Gray Announces Monthly Youth Forums


D.C. Council Chairman Vincent C. Gray says he will host monthly youth forums in an effort to engage the young people in the District of Columbia. The forums, which will begin in October, are intended to give youth an opportunity to have a voice on any subject affecting their lives.

“When we invited young people to participate in an education reform hearing earlier this year, we found they have a great deal to say and contribute to how we move forward,” said Chairman Gray.

Michelle Rhee, What she Wants

Someone was rolling a home video camera when DC Schools Chancellor Michelle Rhee addressed a recent Democrats for Education Reform gathering.

The new schools chief was frank and to the point as she talked about moving veteran central office administrators out of the way so she could really take charge of the direction of DC schools.

Rhee believes the DC Schools have been run in a way that counters what any good organization would do.

If you liked Rhee before, you won't be disappointed in her insistence on getting laws changed so she can quickly fire some people.

If you opposed her appointment or Mayor Fenty's take over of the schools and dismissal of the elected School Board, they're actually now an advisory State panel, you won't like much of what the new Chancellor has to say...

DCist.com was first to bring Chancellor Rhee's comments to this blogger's attention.

Click on the link below to go to her Youtube link.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0w-ta17X8DM&eurl=http%3A%2F%2Fdcist%2Ecom%2F

New Convention Center Hotel. What took So Long?

The Fenty administration and the the JW Mariott Corporation today announced a deal to build a new Convention Center Hotel.

Officials today said the city has lost 29 major conventions and the 250 million dollars that come with them because we didn't have enough hotels within close walking distance to the Convention Center which opened in 2003 at a cost of more than 800 million dollars.

What took so long and two administrations to complete the deal?

One source close to the talks told me the Fenty administration until recently was refusing to submit the deal to the Chief Financial Officer Natwar Ghandi for review.

The CFO has to sign off on such contracts where public dollars are involved and in this case we're talking about more than 130 million of the taxpayer's dollars going into the new hotel project. In the end Ghandi looked it over and gave his okay...

Oh, another thing! The hotel agreement says that 50% of the jobs will go to DC residents...that's a goal and not law. The new baseball stadium carried the same stipulation but in the end according to DC Councilman Jack Evans, Chairman of the Finance and Revenue Committee, only about 35% of the stadium jobs went to City residents. Problem seems to be finding an "employable workforce", people with the training. Depending on who's talking, either the employers aren't looking hard enough or a lot of city residents don't have the skills.

BJ's Movie Choice, Eastern Promises

I'm not a movie critic; but like my close friends, I know what I like. This week it's "Eastern Promises", a thriller with great acting based on a London crime family with eastern origins.


Click on the link below to see the trailer. http://www.apple.com/trailers/focus_features/easternpromises/trailer/

DC Area Students at Delaware State

Shelita Middleton, One of Two Students Shot

News that two DC students had been shot on the campus of Delaware State University early Friday morning prompted me to drive to the campus on my day off. I knew that a large number of DC area students attended D State.

It was my first ever trip to Dover, the State Capitol; My first time passing Dover Downs which sits across the highway from the historical black college campus. There were campers and SUV's all over the place for the NASCAR events.

But I was there to see and hear from our young college men and women who were on lock down as a result of the shootings with the gunman still at large.

At the front gate, I was told by armed campus police that news media were prohibited from entering the campus; Big mistake on my part identifying myself. but I didn't come this far (95 miles from Washington) to be turned around. I glanced across the street where the TV satellite trucks and live cameras were set up; Reporters were busy filing their stories following a press conference by University officials.

I decided to circle the campus looking for an opening. Every entrance was closed with gates locked; but unattended. The plan was to ditch my car and set out on campus by foot. I had my own Sony DVD mini camera which shoots great pictures and sound. The plan was to track down some of my fraternity brothers (Kappa Alpha Psi) or DC area students, hoping they recognized me because I was in jeans and casual shirt.

Within minutes, a male student who turns out to be from New Jersey, (my grandmother lived in Newark) directed me to a large student housing complex. Campus Police drove by but didn't stop to question me or my motives. In the parking lot I encountered a group of male students, all but one from the DC area. After introductions, they seemed eager to talk and invited me to one of their rooms where we discussed the shootings, the impact on their school, and the overall violence that seems to follow them wherever they go...

The comments from DC area Delaware State students aired Saturday night at Eleven on Nine News Now..The gunman believed to be a Delaware State student was still at large. The DC wounded students were still hospitalized. To view video with student comments, CLICK HERE

More Reaction to Senate defeat of DC Voting Bill

DC Congressional Delegate Norton and Mayor Fenty are putting on optimistic faces following the setback of the Senate bill aimed at giving City residents a single vote in the House. Their official statements are included below;





Government of the District of Columbia Executive Office of the Mayor



For Immediate Release CONTACT: Dena Iverson
September 18, 2007 202.727.6914 (office)
202.340-7834 (mobile)

Fenty Vows to Continue Fight for DC Voting Rights

Washington, DC – Mayor Adrian M. Fenty spoke at the U. S. Capitol today after supporters of the District of Columbia House Voting Rights Act in the Senate failed to garner the votes necessary to end debate on the bill and allow for an up-or-down vote on its passage. The House version of the bill passed on April 19.

“For more than 200 years Washingtonians have been denied one of our most basic rights as American citizens and today the Senate failed to right this egregious wrong,” said Fenty. “I will not stop working until the residents of the District of Columbia have the same voice in the House as every other American citizen.”

As Mayor of the District of Columbia, Fenty has floor privileges in the Senate, which Fenty exercised during the debate and vote in an effort to speak to Senators and shore up support for the bill. This is the first time that a mayor has used the floor privileges to support voting rights legislation.

“Senators Lieberman and Hatch deserve great credit for all of their work on this legislation. I will continue to work closely with them to make sure the District of Columbia House Voting Rights Act is passed,” said Fenty.








Web Site: URL=http://www.norton.house.gov
Norton Buoyed, Not Daunted by Today’s Close D.C. House Vote in Senate
Washington, DC-- Congresswoman Eleanor Holmes Norton issued an optimistic statement and analysis of why she thought the D.C. House vote bill could still pass during the 110th Congress. Her statement follows:

Today the District got 57 votes with another sure vote promised if we had gotten to 59. No one who knows the lopsided, don’t-do-it-or-die pressure suffered by four Republicans who had said they would vote “Yes” can doubt that we are too close to victory to quit now. Too many have done too much to throw in the towel, with one year of this session of Congress still to go and a critical election year ahead in 2008 to work with.

The House of Representatives, which alone is affected by S. 1257, has already passed this bill with the outstanding leadership of Speaker Nancy Pelosi and Majority Leader Steny Hoyer, and Majority Leader Hoyer’s strong support and ceaseless effort produced unanimity in the Democratic Caucus. Rep. Tom Davis was indispensable to this effort. Today’s vote would not have happened at all without Majority Leader Harry Reid’s dedicated and unyielding support throughout, or without his personal efforts that produced virtual unanimity among the Democrats. We need only two Republican senators to do what eight courageously did today – Senators Bennett, Coleman, Collins, Hatch, Lugar, Snowe, Specter, and Voinovich. We need two senators to understand what “No” means on a voting bill for a majority African American district in the 21st century. Had the bill moved forward we would have had more battles and would have lost a few votes on the bill itself but we would have prevailed with a clear majority. In today’s world, a “No” vote on even allowing the bill to be considered is so indefensible and shameful it must be reversed.

After all, the effort for D.C. voting rights in the House of Representatives was always a war. Like the battles that were lost when D.C. residents fought in the nation’s first war, however, we are planning right now to see this war through to victory. We believe that like several bills that now are moving forward in the Senate for a second time within a few months after falling short of 60 votes, S. 1257 must and will rise again during the 110th Congress. We did not have the same ammunition that the Republican leadership used to win this first battle. But, we are not without weapons, and they only grow stronger now, especially as 2008 looms on the election horizon, with independents, among our strongest supporters, likely to decide every Republican and Democratic race. Residents and their allies are taking names and gathering resources, already making calls to critical states that we should have had, and did have until the day of the vote. Our allies throughout the country are targeting senators to help make voting for our bill help and voting against it hurt.

Too many have done heroic work to do anything now but keep on and rejoice that we came so close and use the momentum that is still with us, to go the rest of the way: Joe Lieberman, who has carried whatever bill empowers the District with unequalled determination, dedication and skill as if all of us lived in Connecticut; D.C. Vote, whose ceaseless effort gave the bill a base and a reach we have never had and expert leadership that has no parallel in our history; the Leadership Conference on Civil Rights, our not so secret weapon whose influence with Republican and Democratic senators is unequalled and who made S. 1257 a “scored vote,” i.e. a vote that has consequences, and they will; and those who have the most to gain – thousands of D.C. residents, many of whom had not been involved before, led by Mayor Adrian Fenty, who not only spared no effort but found effective new ways to move voting rights forward, and Council Chairman Vincent Gray who converted the D.C. Council into a formidable lobby for a bill.
One man stands alone however, and indeed was almost alone in carrying the bill among Senate Republicans. Orrin Hatch never buckled or even hesitated, when most men might well have, in his effort for a bill that was unpopular in his caucus. He could have thrown us overboard and waited patiently, hoping that Utah’s time would come without us. A former chair of the Judiciary Committee, Senator Hatch’s view of the constitutionality of our bill was critical to the support we received. I never doubted that Orrin Hatch was a principled senator because I have worked with him (yes, and against him) in the past. But, Orrin’s sense of principle was unfairly tested during the last few months in the Senate. Yet, he did not blink. In a day filled with heroes, Senator Orrin Hatch stands out.







FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE Contact: Seamus Hughes
September 18, 2007 202-224-1839

LIEBERMAN DEEPLY DISAPPOINTED BY FAILURE TO SECURE 60 VOTES FOR EQUAL REPRESENTATION FOR D.C. CITIZENS
SUPPORTERS VOW TO KEEP WORKING

WASHINGTON – Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee Chairman Joe Lieberman, ID-Conn., expressed deep disappointment Tuesday at the Senate’s inability to overcome a threatened filibuster and vote to grant residents of the District of Columbia equal voting representation in Congress. S. 1257, “The District of Columbia House Voting Rights Act of 2007” - which would have given the District voting representation in the House of Representatives and increased Utah’s congressional delegation by one member - was temporarily defeated by a procedural vote that required 60 votes. The tally was 57-42, three shy of the votes needed.

“I am deeply disappointed that, having come so close, we were not able to overcome a handful of opponents to move forward with this critically important civil rights bill,” Lieberman said. “For too long the residents of the District of Columbia have been denied a full vote in the House, and each day this injustice continues is a discredit to our democracy. My colleagues, unfortunately, chose filibuster over fairness, refusing to even allow Senate consideration of the D.C. voting rights bill. But we are undeterred and will keep working until we have the votes we need.”

Praising S. 1257 as a bipartisan bill, Lieberman said he would continue working to change three no votes to aye in the 110th Congress. And if that effort is unsuccessful, he predicted better luck in the 111th Congress.

“For more than two centuries, residents of the District of Columbia have suffered the indignity of disenfranchisement. They have paid federal taxes, died in wars and borne all the other burdens of citizenship - all without the honor and recourse of a full voice in either house of Congress,” said Lieberman. “This is a national embarrassment and we will not stop working until we correct it.”

Lieberman has a long history of supporting equal representation for D.C. residents. In 2001, he introduced S. 603, “The No Taxation Without Representation Act of 2001,” which would have provided congressional representation to D.C. citizens. On May 1, 2007, Lieberman, along with Senators Orrin Hatch and Robert Bennett, R-Utah., introduced the Senate legislation defeated Tuesday. It would have added two more voting seats in the House of Representatives, one for the District of Columbia and one for the State of Utah, based on updated population figures from the 2000 Census. The House passed a similar bill on April 20 by a vote of 241-177.

“To have your voice heard by your government is central to a functioning democracy and fundamental to a free society. Members from both parties and both houses have finally come together to find a solution to break the stalemates of the past that have denied D.C. residents equal representation in the Congress of the United States,” said Lieberman. “Now is the time to give the residents of the District what they so richly deserve and that is the same civic entitlement that every other federal tax-paying American citizen enjoys, no matter where he or she lives. By giving the citizens of the District of Columbia a genuine vote in the House, we will ensure not only that their voices will finally be fully heard. We will be following the imperatives of our national democratic values.

DC Police shooting leaves questions

Okay, let's get right to it! There are some serious questions surrounding the shooting Monday evening of 14 year old Deonte Rawlins on Atlantic street southeast. Why were two off duty police officers in plain clothes investigating a burglary in one of their homes? Is there an official police report to support the incident?

Where is the gun that police say the kid fired at officers as they sat in their private vehicle? If there were no other witnesses to the exchange of gunfire as police say, then who walked off with the gun? Did the boy really have a gun? Does he have a history with the criminal justice system?

All tough questions that Police will have to sort out....The Mayor and Police Chief expressed sympathies for the dead boy's family...not many words of support for the cops...An indication perhaps that at minimum some departmental rules were not followed; at worst that we have a far more serious situation here!

The internal investigation by DC police may not be enough, Mayor Fenty should keep all his options open including asking for an outside independent probe.

A Game at a Time

On the Redskins..let's just say..so far so good and like the team I'm taking it one game at a time. However, I will say Jason Campbell is only going to get better and that could be frightening for opponents...and Monday night's game against Philly should not have been that close...we dropped passes and Jason overthrew an easy score down the middle for the entire country to see....defense lookin good! The running game is getting interesting..I especially like using Sellers as our own version of the "Bus"! Anxious to hear what Levan Reid has to say Saturday night at 11..I'm Out!

A small but Persistent Protest

Residents of the City's Mount Vernon Square neighborhood took to the sidewalk Monday evening in front of the Fun Fair business which they say has been fronting for prostitution, drugs and other illegal activity. The City's Consumer and Regulatory Affairs department has assured them steps are being taken in conjunction with the Attorney General to close the place down.

Said longtime resident Deborah Ziska, "It's been five years".

DC Vote Goes Down in the Senate

Here's some of the reaction that's coming in on the major defeat for DC Voting Rights in the Senate on Tuesday.

kkiger@dcvote.org / http://www.dcvote.org/

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: September 18, 2007

Strong Vote Sign of Victory to Come

Washington, DC - Today, in a procedural vote on the DC House Voting Rights Act (S. 1257), a small group of Senators blocked the bill from being debated with a vote of 57 yeas - 42 neas. In order to overcome a filibuster, 60 votes are required.

While DC Vote is disappointed that these Senators are standing in the way of democracy for the nearly 600,000 tax-paying Americans living in Washington, DC, we remain encouraged that the Senate will pass this bill during this Congress. Ilir Zherka, Executive Director of DC Vote, released the following statement which may be quoted in part or in full:
"For the first time in 30 years, we secured the vote of a strong majority of Senators in favor of DC voting rights. We are outraged that a minority of Senators, led by Senators Mitch McConnell and Trent Lott, prevented the majority from voting on our bill. McConnell and Lott chose to filibuster a bill extending democracy at home at a time when they are pushing for democracy in the Iraq.
"Shame on them. Shame also on Senators Thad Cochran, John McCain and Gordon Smith, a group of Senators that did not have the courage to stand with us and against the outrageous tactics of their party leaders.
"This is the first filibuster of a voting rights bill since the era of segregation. Their opposition reminds us of a time when a minority of Senators blocked the door to democracy and freedom.
"We have not gotten this far by giving up. We have a majority of Senators who support voting rights for Americans living in Washington, DC. We will prevail in our cause because our cause is just. We will work closely with our allies in the Senate to get this bill up again in this Congress."

### Washington, DC - The DC Republican Committee made the following statement in regard to today's action on S.1257.

"Today's vote shows that we still have a lot of work ahead of us and we express deep regret on today's outcome. We would like to thank the Republican Senators Collins, Hatch, Bennett, Voinovich, Snowe, Lugar, Coleman and Specter for their efforts," stated DC Republican Committee Chairman Robert J. Kabel.

Senators Place Roadblock In the Way of Representation for DC

In response to the failure of today’s cloture vote for the District of Columbia House Voting Rights Act of 2007 (S. 1257), People For the American Way Public Policy Director Tanya Clay House released the following statement:

“DC residents serve in the military, they pay taxes – thousands of them actually work for the United States government, yet they have no vote in Congress. And the greatest irony is that they live in the very shadow of the Capitol Dome. It’s time to put an end to this historic injustice, and let the people of the District of Columbia send a full voting representative to Congress.

“Americans fought and died for the right to elect their own government, a government of the people, by the people and for the people. That our democracy has allowed DC residents to live without voting representation for over 200 years is a tragedy.

Barry Loses Another Round to Fenty

The new Mayor, Adrian Fenty was on the old Mayor, Marion Barry's stomping grounds Monday announcing a plan to contribute 79 million dollars of the city's money to help a private firm buy and operate Greater Southeast Community Hospital.

The New Mayor was flanked by DC Council Chairman Vincent Gray and Councilman David Catania, Chairman of the Health Committee which is a good indication the bailout package is going to win Council approval.

Barry meanwhile was boycotting the press conference, choosing instead to call his own media event to complain that he wasn't consulted by Fenty and considered this an act of disrespect.

Whether by design or accident or inexperience, it seems as though the new Mayor is sending another signal that there is a new sheriff in town;

Like Barry, in his four terms as Mayor, Fenty seems already convinced, perhaps by winning every precinct in the democratic Mayoral primary, that all major projects in the city, no make that all projects, of any significance begin and end with the current administration.

"If he's going to take the blame...then he may as well have his name on it", said one longtime observer of DC government.

Barry doesn't like it one bit. Fenty bounced the Ward Eight Councilman from another major project in Southeast, DC, the Poplar Point development. Barry thought he had all but locked up the deal for Victor MacFarlane only to have Fenty pull the rug and declare Poplar Point would be awarded through open competitive bidding.

The new Mayor came into office having already trounced a veteran DC Council Chair Linda Cropp, and a long term, well connected Ward Four legislator, Charlene Drew Jarvis before that;

Fenty, a triathlete, doesn't seem confrontational in public, when addressing his differences with Barry or any other political foe. In private, it's different. Associates say he is driven and can be stubborn, even vindictive.

It's the political way. Sounds a lot like the old Marion Barry.

Robert Kinlaw is dead! Can the Truce Last?

When the 7Th and O Crew agreed to a truce with the 5Th and O Crew last May with our cameras rolling, everyone knew that it would be a fragile truce, held together only by the words and muscles of the ex-offenders who had brought the warring factions together.



Robert Kinlaw Junior, a 34 year old ex-con with a long history of violence and crime had decided that "enough is enough". Kinlaw, known as "Noochie" in the Shaw neighborhoods was a wide as he was tall.



I'm thinking as I interviewed him and the others that "this man could break my neck with his bare hands if he wanted". But Kinlaw was there as a peace advocate and the younger crew members were there to listen and to participate...even if they had no intentions of helping keep the peace.


Robert Kinlaw Junior died just over two weeks ago. Not from a bullet; but from a heart attack in a Convenience store. Today everyone is asking "will the peace hold"? There had been about 40 shootings in the months before the treaty was signed. Only one after that. Now who knows?


The gun play between the 7Th and O and 5Th and O Crews dated back so long, that most gang members who talked with me couldn't recall how it all began.


The Alliance of Concerned Men, Peaceaholics and Scripture Cathedral Church helped forge the peace; but everyone understood that it was the men like Kinlaw, ex-offenders with street credibility among the young gang bangers who made it work.


I'm including the moving TV report that aired on Nine News Now last May. In it you will see and hear Robert Kinlaw talking about why the truce must last. Kinlaw is gone but his words must never die.


Click here to see the video

Old Time Community Activism

People living in the Mount Vernon and Shaw neighborhoods are fed up with a local business which they say is fostering prostitution, drug activity and other crimes.

Here's how they describe the situation with Fun Fair Video, located at 919 5Th Street.

"Fun Fair Video continues its illegal operation despite over a decade of DCRA, the BZA, and the courts finding that it is not licensed to operate a sexually-oriented business. It considers itself a video "arcade" where patrons can insert money in a booth to watch xxx video clips. Even worse, neighbors report routinely seeing drug activity and prostitution from the premises and are afraid to walk on their own block. For those of us north of this illegal business, we all know to avoid the area and tell out visitors to do the same. It's time to shut Fun Fair down".

The residents are planning to march on the business this coming Monday evening September17Th. We'll keep you posted right here on whether this form of protest which has worked in the past in many DC neighborhoods lights a fire under government officials.

Christopher Barry's Eulogy to Effi

It was a moving moment! Christopher Barry took to the pulpit at the Washington National Cathedral Friday morning during his mother's funeral and moved the church to tears, laughter and applause. This city has known Effi and Marion's son for all his 27 years. We have never seen or heard him speak in public.


His words are simply put, heartfelt and powerful.
Click HERE to watch Christopher's eulogy to his mom.

DC Voting Rights

From DCist.com

FreeRide

Might Clinton, Biden, Derail D.C. Vote Bill?

THE LAST SITTING SENATOR to be elected president was John F. Kennedy in 1960. Since then, plenty have tried and all have failed.

This year, the ambitions of senators could end up ruining the one good shot legislation to give the District a full and equal vote in the House has at surviving a vote in the full U.S. Senate.

Why? Potential supporters, such as Hillary Rodham Clinton, Barack Obama, Joe Biden and Chris Dodd, could be somewhere out on the 2008 campaign trail rather than on the Senate floor.

As The Post's Mary Beth Sheridan reports, an initial Senate vote on the D.C. voting rights bill is slated for Tuesday:

Area Joggers, Watch your steps!

I was checking out Youtube recently and came across a foreign gag that left me in stitches...I though it might appeal to others who like to run the trails



http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D_usfVXmuMk

Hustler Magazine on the Hill

The follow was taken from the blog of a Capitol Hill intern. What do you think?

"What new pieces of knowledge have I learned during my first week of interning on the hill in our proud Nation's Capital?Nothing far from what I knew before, but I did gather this: Larry Flynt sends a complimentary edition of Hustler every month to every congressional office. To think that one of the pieces of mail I will have to sort through will be a pornrag. It would not be the most disturbing thing I have come across."

Shakeup at DC Police Headquarters

A good source says DC Police Chief Cathy Lanier is shaking up the Robbery division. The 13 or 14 member veteran squad currently operates out of Police headquarters at 300 Indiana Avenue; but word is Lanier has put the unit on notice. Beginning Sunday the Robbery Squad is being busted up...it's members dispatched to the seven police districts. The shakeup was announced today and people in the know say the Robbery Squad members are furious. It's not clear if they merely oppose de-centralizing of the office or if they hate having to move out of the main headquarters to the district headquarters which are located in the far corners of the City.

New Voices in Poplar Point Debate

Move Over Councilman Marion Barry!



There is a little known group that opposes Ward Eight Councilman Barry's efforts to see developer Victor MacFarlane get sole rights to develop the attractive Poplar Point land along the Anacostia. Barry is at odds with Mayor Adrian Fenty who opened the project up to competitive bids. MacFarlane, owner of DC United, the local pro soccer team wants the city to grant him exclusive development rights with the understanding that a new soccer stadium will be part of the project.



Here's the latest development that came Wednesday at the Poplar Point Bidder’s Conference hosted by the Deputy Mayor’s office.



The group "ONE DC Anacostia" announced the results of their month-long, door-to-door survey of Ward 8 residents on the future of Poplar Point.



Their Press release starts below;

"After successfully advocating an end to closed-door negotiations with DC United, culminating with the announcement of the public bidding process for the site by Mayor Fenty on July 23, residents of Barry Farm, Congress Heights, Historic Anacostia and Hillsdale assembled the attached survey on development priorities for the site, and went out in teams over the last month in neighborhoods closest to Poplar Point.

The results of the 304 surveys that have thus far been entered into our database are attached.
A few highlights, which may contradict conventional wisdom:

--- 64% of the residents surveyed heard about the proposed redevelopment from the interviewer, at the moment of the survey (and the reason we also created an informational flyer about Poplar Point, which I can provide)
--- 87% were opposed to building another stadium (no matter how it was financed, according to our interviewers)
--- 81% were opposed to any kind of market-rate development at the point
--- 72% were in favor of restoring Poplar Point as a full part of Anacostia Park
--- 79% thought any new housing units should be affordable to people making less than $30,000 a year

The survey respondents specific development priorities – comparing needed amenities like youth spaces and senior centers with more market-driven development such as office and retail.


Andrew Willis
Organizing Neighborhood Equity DC (ONE DC)
Office: 614 S St NW Rear Carriage House
Mail: PO Box 26049 Washington, DC 20001
P: 202 232 2915 x103
F: 202 667 5196

Effi Barry's Funeral

The following release came out a short time ago from the DC Government.




OCTT TO BROADCAST LIVE
FUNERAL OF FORMER DISTRICT FIRST LADY EFFI BARRY

(Washington, DC) The District of Columbia's Office of Cable Television and Telecommunications (OCTT) will broadcast "live" the funeral service of the District of Columbia's former first lady Effi Barry.

Beginning at 11:00 am on Friday, September 14, 2007 OCTT TV-16 will present live and in its entirety the funeral service of the District of Columbia's former first lady Effi Barry direct from the Washington National Cathedral.

Interested viewers may also watch OCTT's live coverage of the funeral service on the agency's website at octt.dc.gov.

New York Like DC has Taxicab Issues

From the New York Times

A Strike Exposes an Industry’s Divide

By WILLIAM NEUMAN
Published: September 7, 2007

While it may have been hard at times to hail a cab during a two-day taxi strike that was expected to end this morning, it was harder still for many New Yorkers to understand the bitter dynamic the work stoppage revealed in a deeply divided industry.

The strike centered on a dispute over a high-tech credit card and vehicle tracking system being mandated for all cabs. It was led by the New York Taxi Workers Alliance, which says it represents 10,000 drivers. The group’s energetic executive director, Bhairavi Desai, has become an easily recognizable voice for New York taxi drivers since she began an organizing campaign in the 1990s.
But the alliance has been opposed, sometimes with strong language, by many others in the industry.
One of the most vocal groups has been the New York State Federation of Taxi Drivers, which claims to have 7,000 yellow-cab drivers among a membership that also includes drivers of livery cabs and black cars. Fernando Mateo, the group’s founder, urged drivers not to strike, and asked the police to protect drivers who went out on the street.
Others who had opposed the strike included groups representing taxi fleet owners and others in the industry.
True to form yesterday, the warring sides had vastly different interpretations of the strike. Ms. Desai said that about 10,000 of the city’s 13,000 taxicabs stayed off the road yesterday. On the first day of the strike, she said that 90 percent of cabs were off the streets. She predicted that the city would ultimately be forced to back down and either change aspects of the technology package for cabs or abandon it altogether.
Ms. Desai said that her group would try to add members and build on what she called “an unprecedented mobilization in this industry,” hinting at possible future actions. “We basically had two solid days that have given us the experience to perfect our skills,” she said.
Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg has said he will not change course on the taxi technology, and City Hall officials said that they were not negotiating with Ms. Desai. Mr. Bloomberg said that about 82 percent of fleet cabs were rolling yesterday, up from 75 percent the day before. The city had instituted an emergency fare system for the duration of the strike, dividing the city into fare zones, and many drivers who worked said that it allowed them to make far more money than on a typical day.
“They’re working very hard out there and maybe they deserve it,” the mayor said yesterday at a news conference.
The Port Authority of New York and New Jersey, which tracks cabs at Kennedy International and La Guardia Airports, said that in an average day there are a total of about 17,000 yellow cab pickups at the two airports. On Wednesday, the authority said there were about half that number, and yesterday there was about two-thirds of the regular volume. A spokesman said that dispatchers were still placing more than one rider in many cabs to make up for the shortfall and that as a result, waits were minimal. Throughout Midtown, there were visibly more cabs on the streets as well.
A city official said the emergency fare measures were expected to be lifted this morning.
But Mr. Hodges said that given the nature of the taxi industry, it was significant that several thousand drivers appeared to have stayed home over two days. He said that many drivers were living day to day and that “these are people who just can’t afford to strike.”
“They don’t have any strike fund,” he said. “That’s why you have a two-day strike rather than one that’s extended. The fact that they got as many as they have is quite impressive.”
The Taxi and Limousine Commission says that there are 13,087 taxi medallions. More than 3,200 of the medallions are affixed to cabs run by fleet operators, the commission said. A large portion of the remainder are leased by people who own their cabs, although they may lease the vehicle out to other drivers. About 44,000 drivers hold a hack license, but not all drive full time, the commission says.
Edward G. Rogoff, a professor of management at Baruch College who has studied the taxi industry, said that it had increasingly become divided between a small group of wealthy medallion owners and a vast pool of drivers who occupied one of the lower positions in the city’s economy.
“They’re urban transportation sharecroppers,” Mr. Rogoff said. “They lease a medallion for a fixed price for a fixed period of time and they absorb all the risk as to whether it rains. And they’re unhappy because the system is fundamentally unfair to them and they know that.”

Sharing City Streets

One of the reasons I run in Rock Creek and not on the streets is that I don't trust DC drivers to look out for me. Bikers should also be on guard. We have had a few cyclists struck and killed recently, and I'm including a man in a wheel chair who was struck by an SUV in the crosswalk on North Capitol Street. Let's face it a lot of motorists don't like sharing the road with people on but two wheels. They treat bike lanes as though part of the road has been stolen from them.
Consider this blog from Berlin.

Berlin: Lethal Biking

"To ride a bike, Berlin is probably the most dangerous city in Europe. At least this is what the latest figures given out by Berlins Senate show. According to them 4.118 minor and 493 major injuries were recorded in 2005, as well as seven lethal accidents. The latter figure is already at 11 for the present year. Most accidents are caused by car drivers and not by the bikers themselves. "
Go read the entire post>>

Here's one from a New York meter cab!

From Metroblogging .com

New York City:

Taxi Ripoff!
There's nothing that drives me crazier than sitting in a cab ,motionless in traffic watching the meter tick away my money. That's why I walk, take the subway or rollerblade everywhere ,except on late on a stormy night. Apparently the new increase works out to about 70% in a typical ride. Yesterday one ride in traffic , according to NYSD, cost $13, as opposed to $7.70 last week...
Go read the entire post>>.com

DC Taxicab Commission Bows to Pressure

The Eight member DC Taxicab Commission meeting Tuesday reminded a lot of people of what the early DC Council meetings were like. Totally out of control! Cab

Drivers were screaming from their seats, often ignoring the Chairman's insistence on order. The meeting was held so the appointed body could vote on a recommendation to Mayor Fenty on whether he should keep the current Zone system for determining fares or go to a meter system like every other Major city.

Angry drivers, at one point got up and stormed out of the meeting and got into their cabs vowing to go on strike. "Make the Congress walk" said one veteran hacker.

They wanted to keep the zone system, complaining that a proposal to put time and distance meters in their cabs would cost them money.

Taxicab commissioners couldn't agree on a recommendation after eight separate votes.

Another proposal to keep the zones; but add a GPS system that would give the passenger a print out of the route, the distance, the fare .....that proposal was also defeated.

In the end the Commission decided to allow the Mayor (as though he needed their approval) to use his authority and current regulations to "do what he wants".

Some Congress members and their staffs hate the zone system and want it changed. If the Mayor doesn't act by October 17Th to either change to meters or keep the zone system--the law changes to meters.

Stay tuned...PS the Tuesday meeting went four hours..way too long..

Effi Barry's Sendoff

Organizers of Effi Barry's sendoff are busy today putting together the events that will see the Nation's Capitol bid farewell to it's longest serving first lady.

Linda Green, a longtime family friend told me a short time ago that up to two thousand people are expected at the funeral Friday at 11:AM at the National Cathedral.

Thus far Mayor Adrian Fenty and DC Council Chairman Vincent Gray have been confirmed as speakers. It's not yet certain whether Councilman Marion Barry, Effi's ex-husband will speak.

Mary Wilson, of the Supremes may perform at the service; but that isn't confirmed as of this writing. Organizers say they are limited to an hour and a half by Cathedral managers.

It should be pointed out that Effi Barry had said she did not want flowers; but would rather have people donate money to the "Effi Barry" fund at the Industrial Bank at 4812 Georgia Avenue.

Carol Fennely, a longtime friend recalled today how Effi and Marion left the former Mayor's drug trial during a lunch break so that Barry could deliver the eulogy at Mitch Snyder's funeral. For those who were around back then you'll recall that Snyder, the champion of DC's homeless, committed suicide. His devout companion, Fennely in reflecting back on that day said "I don't think Effi ever stopped loving Marion".

In a radio interview a decade after their divorce Effi said of Barry; he's "one of the most intelligent men that I have ever known."

She went on to say "If anyone has been hurt in the whole scenario of Marion's downfall, for certain, it was his family, [son] Christopher and me," she said. But "over the years, we have been able to heal and to carry on with our lives."

Effi Barry added that she and her ex-husband are now "friends . . . bound by our son."

Effi seemed to find comfort with other women who had gone through tribulations with their men. In addition to Fennely, there was Gwendolyn Manley, wife of former Redskins great Dexter Manley; Dorothy Ford, wife of former Tennessee Congressman Harold Ford Senior and Mary Wilson, who lived in Washington for a time after her singing career with the Supreme's seemed to hit bottom.

Those close friends will be at Effi's funeral later this week along with lots more women who can identify with the former first Lady's story.

I think it's fair to expect there will also be a big turnout after the body is laid in repose at the Wilson building, practically all day and night Thursday; and again Friday morning...That's when the people who never met Effi Barry will get their one chance to see her up close.

A Fitting Tribute

This town which is often divided along political, geographical, socio-economical and racial lines is about to come together in historic numbers to bid farewell to former first lady Effi Barry.

Her body will lie in repose next week in the John Wilson building (city hall). It's an honor normally reserved for elected officials; but residents of the District of Columbia haven't been electing their own politicians for that long, just over a quarter century; We've had but 44 elected DC Councilmembers; 5 elected DC Mayors, including Adrian Fenty.

Effi Barry was married to former Mayor Marion Barry for 14 years--all but two years of that was spent as first lady while her husband was Mayor (Barry served four terms in all).

There is no need to rehash all the Marion Barry scandals, the late night escapades, the arrest at the Vista hotel and the summer long drug trial; but it's suffice to say Effi Barry earned her stripes at her husband's side.

Much like Jackie, Hillary, and Diana! Effi could have cultivated admirers just by her charity work and appearances at the required social events; but this lady became an icon after repeatedly getting up and standing by her man, at least in public. Women in the know say Effi "would let Marion have it" in private. "She was trying to keep her family together".

Effi Barry, 63, had battled acute myeloid leukemia for more than a year. She died Thursday morning at Anne Arundle Medical Center in Annapolis. She and Marion had one son, 27 year old Christopher.

Mayor Adrian Fenty has ordered that all flags be flown at half staff and Friday will be declared Effi Barry day.

Viewing at the Wilson building will be from 10 a.m. to midnight Thursday and 6 to 9 a.m. Friday, followed by a funeral at 11 a.m. at the National Cathedral on Wisconsin avenue in Northwest. A repast will be at 1 p.m. at the old City Museum building.

Scores of people will stop by the Wilson building to pay their respects. Those that can will make their way to the Cathedral on Friday. They'll be there to bid farewell to the most popular first Lady this city has known.

We'll also be praying for Marion and Christopher Barry.

Effi Barry

She battled leukemia like every other obstacle she faced, with quiet dignity. Most people will remember Effi Barry, the District's former first lady as the wife of the unsinkable former Mayor, Marion Barry. Who can forget the scenes of the pretty, tall and collected woman sitting in the front row of the courtroom, every day (wasn't Effi knitting?) during her husband's drug trial.


Someone compared Effi to Britain's Lady Di. I get it. If Effi wanted to strangle Marion, she never let on; If she had mean words for th