D.C. Statehood Is Back
• April 20, 2016

In the minds of many D.C. residents, the idea, if not the reality, of statehood, has never really left. Almost every person who’s been elected mayor of the District of Columbia has picked up the statehood flag and vowed to work hard to make it happen.
“What do we want?” “Statehood!” “When do we want it?” “Now!”

That rallying cry has been heard often over many years. It got some new urgency recently when Mayor Muriel Bowser picked up the banner by way of the District’s $13-billion Fiscal 2017 budget, which will be sent to Congress this year. When that happens, the city has promised not to ask the federal government for permission to spend its money the way it wants to.

That could mean a showdown with Congress, which routinely folds the District’s budget into the federal budget, retaining the right of approval. This challenge to Congress, according to the mayor, is another step toward the ultimate goal of statehood for the District of Columbia.

This is always a popular choice for mayors engaging in a fight with the federal government. We have one representative in Congress, who can deliberate but cannot vote. And the committee with oversight duties has had a historic and at times notorious penchant for disrespecting both elected District officials and legislation that they have been passed, including gun laws.

Even if you’re not a big fan of statehood — it can sound and feel better as an idea than as a practical reality — Congressional committee members have often acted in ways that make you want to march down the avenue and get thrown in jail in protest.

Consider the recent House subcommittee hearing on the difficulties surrounding Metro. Ward 2 Council member Jack Evans, who now chairs the Metro board, asked the government for $300 million from Congress. “Do you want there to be safety? You want this to be reliable? Or do you just want to leave here and do nothing?” Evans said.

But here comes Rep. John L. Mica (R-Fla.), self-presumed to have amazing individual powers. “I’m not going to bail you out,” he said. Then, turning to Metro General Manager Paul J. Wiedefeld, he said, “You need to get in there and fire people and get that place in order.”

That kind of language historically has been common, especially from little-known members of Congress trying to flex their muscles in public.

It’s enough to make you yell back: “Statehood now!”

Not Digging the Digging
•

Spring is also the season of a lot of bloomin’ construction, which unfortunately coincides with increased outdoor activity by Georgetown residents and visitors.

Between green infrastructure projects, M Street sidewalk expansions, Potholepalooza and miscellaneous tree removal and road repairs, our charming village has become an obstacle course.

We understand (or at least trust) that this is necessary work — and provides jobs — but the sudden closing of lanes and entire streets makes everyone’s lives more difficult and does no good for our retail economy.

Communication is key, and The Georgetowner is stepping up its effort to get the word out, both in the paper and online. For DIY types, here are some resources:

For alerts and breaking news from DC Water:
dcwater.com/news/alert_form.cfm

For current DC Water work zones and projects:
dcwater.com/workzones/default.cfm

DDOT’s website (for traffic advisories and alerts):
ddot.dc.gov

DDOT’s Twitter feed:
twitter.com/DDOTDC

Georgetown’s Sinful Past — and Present
•

This week, Georgetown University faces two of the greatest issues in America’s story, past and present: slavery and abortion.

“Georgetown Confronts Its Role in Nation’s Slave Trade,” headlined the New York Times on its April 17 front page. It is a story, previously reported here and elsewhere, the details of which many at the school and in town learned about only fairly recently.

The next day, Adam Rothman, a professor with Georgetown University’s Working Group on Slavery, Memory & Reconciliation, spoke at a symposium — previously scheduled in honor of D.C. Emancipation Day — about the college’s shameful story in connection with the Jesuits’ sale of 272 slaves in 1838. With promises broken, families were truly “sold down the river.” The news was that descendants had been located from this heart-wrenching business.

“It seems to me that the story of Georgetown and slavery is a microcosm of the whole history of slavery,” said Rothman, who stressed that the first step of truth and reconciliation is truth. All of this occurred in a Christian institution, directly answerable to the Catholic Church, which could no longer look the other way in terms of slavery in the New World.

Yes, some kind of memorial should be erected on the campus. Yes, scholarships should be offered. Is it enough? Of course not. Yes, Georgetown sinned, but forgiveness is possible.

In an ironic and hopeful twist of fate, the university’s president in the 1870s was Rev. Patrick Healy, S.J. Healy was born in Georgia of a mixed-race mother and an Irish father, who owned slaves. He was referred to in his day as Irish and perhaps a little Spanish. After the 1970s, Georgetown embraced him as a black man. Regardless of the out-of-time hypocrisy, Healy is known and honored for putting the school on the path to becoming a major university. He was the first black American to earn a Ph.D. and become a Jesuit priest. His landmark building dominates the sky of this town and the federal city.

Meanwhile, the national abortion debate has erupted anew on the university’s main campus. Cecile Richards, president of Planned Parenthood, has been invited by a student group to speak on campus on the afternoon of April 20. (Planned Parenthood is the nation’s largest abortion provider.) University officials have defended Richards’s right to speak.

Opponents argue that Jesuit Georgetown is betraying — even mocking — its Catholic identity and mission. In essence, it is sinning.

A student group called Georgetown Right to Life has invited Abby Johnson, an anti-abortion activist, to speak later the same day in the main campus’s Dahlgren Chapel. Cardinal Donald Wuerl will celebrate a Mass for Life at 7:30 p.m., April 21, at Epiphany Catholic Church on Dumbation Street in Georgetown.

The Georgetowner assigned these stories to Georgetown University students, our interns Juliana Zovak and Percy Metcalfe. Such national issues and debates are why they — and most of us — are here in the nation’s capital.

Yes, on Decriminalization of Pot, But . . .
• April 11, 2016

We hear that business is booming in the legal marijuana trade in Colorado.

That’s good news, right?

Well, maybe yes, maybe no.

When it comes to legalizing the use of recreational marijuana, and decriminalization of the same, it’s a little like the invention of the Internet. Beware of what you’re getting into.

You can be of several minds on the issue: there is no question in our minds that when it comes to policing and the justice system, the heaviest burden — in terms of prison time, incarceration and policing — has befallen young black men in America. So, for certain, something has to be done about sentencing, those penalties exacted for using and buying. Those kinds of inequities should not be abided.

We do feel that some proposals on fines for just walking or smoking in public are too light. There should some more disincentive.

Lots of people worry about marijuana and its uses. So goes the argument: people will start smoking again and become addicted and even move on to stronger things like cocaine. Those claims are questionable. You have to smoke a lot of pot to get into the cancer territory, although the danger exists. The leap from strong to stronger is debatable, too—marijuana and coke are two very different kinds of drugs and usually don’t go hand in hand.

But marijuana, like alcohol, is impairing. Smoke enough and you can miss your turnoff, while driving, and end up in Ohio—or, for that matter, miss seeing that stop sign or red light. That’s no laughing matter, and police have complained already that there is no way of testing for its use.

There should be, however, some studies done on the use, control and economic effects in such places as Colorado, Washington or Oregon. But economic success—big bucks for entrepreneurs—shouldn’t override common sense and legitimate concerns.

Would legalizing marijuana be the end of the world as we know it? You bet. But our world is ending every day and becoming something else. Just ask the people who miss Jay Leno so badly. ?

The Cameras Lack One Element
•

I come from a rural area that at this moment is getting pounded by the “Polar Vortex.” Indiana to be exact. Coming from a place where roughly half a mile or more spans between intersections, it was startling to drive half a mile and hit 6 – 8 of them. I wasn’t used to this stop-start type of driving, but I caught on quickly when I noticed police at almost every intersection. Then I noticed the cameras…

Most people in D.C. Metro know by now the “all seeing” traffic cameras have turned on and are watching our every move. We need to get something understood right off the bat, though. These new traffic cameras are looking for license plate numbers when an automobile violation occurs. These violations include: speeding (fine $50-$300), failing to clear an intersection (fine $50), failing to yield to pedestrians at an intersection (fine $250) and overweight trucks in restricted truck weight zones (fine $150-$250). With all these automated cameras we (as drivers) need to understand the cameras do not hold the human elements of compassion and empathy. In fact, these cameras see nothing but violations. So if you think you may be reimbursed a fine or two for waiting for a cross-walker don’t hold your breath, the cameras don’t care.

The United States Census Bureau claims D.C. holds a population of 632,323 residents. In 2010, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) stated that 25 pedestrians were killed in D.C. from vehicle strikes. NHTSA then released that the fatalities had dropped to 19 deaths in 2012. That is a mere 0.003 percent of D.C.’s population. Although deaths from traffic accidents have dropped to a very low number, that number still has not reached zero and it may never do so. This is due to the “human element,” a factor of mistake and error.

What these numbers do not show is how many people illegally crossed the street and expected traffic to stop for them. These numbers don’t show how many drivers stopped, when they had the right of way, to let a mother and her child cross the street to get out of the rain. These numbers do not indicate the honest mistake that a driver can make when approaching an intersection and someone runs out from between two parked cars only to be met by an oncoming vehicle.

People are going to make mistakes and as much as we want to punish them for making those mistakes, we need to also realize there are other factors that can come into play. I’m sorry Washington, but people are not all the same nor the situations. I vote that these violations be reviewed by a human prior to being administered to a fellow human. Sounds like that could take a good deal of time, doesn’t it? Maybe the city will then learn we as residents are more than just voters, tax payers and law abiders.

As for the drivers, I suggest popping in a favorite CD or tuning into a favorite radio station. Enjoy the traffic, it comes with living in a city. I also would like to challenge every D.C. driver to make a point to smile and wave the next time a pedestrian crosses the intersection in front of you. Who knows, you may just be the person on the crosswalk next time. Oh, and if we all start driving safer and crossing intersections with more caution, those “all-seeing” cameras may just disappear, but it’s a team effort.

When Firefighters Fail to Respond
•

There don’t seem to be too many facts in contention here.

Medric Cecil Mills a 77-year-old District Parks & Recreation employee for most of his life, was walking with his daughter along Rhode Island Avenue, NE, when he collapsed. She ran into a store to ask them to call 911, and while others approached a firehouse which could be seen from the sidewalk where Mills collapsed. They knocked on the door, but the people inside refused to come. Several people knocked on the door. A dispatcher in the meantime reportedly sent another fire engine to an address in Northwest.

The critical issue was simple. Mills died. The D.C. firefighters in the firehouse did not come to his aid. A lawsuit seems likely. People were appalled. Firemen in the house, including the probationary fireman who apparently said he could not do anything without asking his superior, are being questioned. Fire Department officials as well as Mayor Vincent Gray called Mills’s family to express their concerns. Paul Quander, the D.C. Deputy Mayor for Public Safety, said that he was”quite disturbed and disappointed by what appears to be an inappropriate response.” Gray said, “… frankly, on its face, it’s really hard to accept what happened here.”

Something should be done, someone should be held to account. Mills did not deserve this kind of neglect and apparent negligence. Nobody does.

But there’s more to it than that, sad as that is. There’s an issue of trust here in a fire department that has been steeped in controversy over the last year or so. In almost any city, any neighborhood, people love, admire and trust the firemen who work for the city. They are underpaid, put their life at risk for the rest of the citizenry, and often, too often, die doing their impossibly difficult jobs. We count on them for help.

I live in a neighborhood which has a firehouse almost as its center, a seamless part of the streets, the sirens rushing out to fires and dangers, the firemen known and respected well enough to greet. We just assume they’re there to help. I’ve watched them come to a local fire with speed and courage.

On one occasion, when I suffered a deep cut on a finger which bled profusely, I couldn’t think of anything else to do except to run to the firehouse a block away. Two EMS personnel happened to be there and cleaned and washed my wound and bandaged it.
I’ve never forgotten that even though the personnel have changed in the firehouse. I just assume they’ll be there unless they’re out on a call, that they’ll help when asked, or even when not.

This time they were asked.

No one came.

That hurts everybody.

Manning the Polls in a Red State
•

Former editor and publisher, David Roffman retired from the Georgetown in 2009 and moved to Alabama, a very different place compared to his years in the nation’s capital and the Old Dominion. Today, he lives in Foley, Ala., with his wife Carmen and two dogs, Brando and Bogart, and goes to the beach a lot.

On my 69th birthday, Election Day, Nov. 6, 2012, I spent 16 hours working the polls at the Foley Alabama Civic Center.

Voting in Alabama is not like voting in Washington, D.C. or McLean, Va., where I had spent 42 years before moving to the Gulf Coast. Alabama is a decidedly Red State and has been for quite some time. Mitt Romney’s winning here was a given before polls opened at 7 a.m.

Voting down here is antiquated. Paper bal- lots are still used, and there are no computerized machines counting votes. The seniors working the polls had to stay an extra four hours after the polls closed to count write-in votes. Was this even important?

At the age of 69, I was the youngest person working the polls here. To think that the entire election process is put into the hands of people in their 70s and 80s . . . amazing. Half these poll workers can’t even get a driver’s license anymore.

The ballot here in Foley, Ala., consisted of voting for president and vice president and sev- eral judgeships and state positions as well as 14 amendments, including one proposing an amend- ment to the Constitution of Alabama of 1901, to prohibit any person, employer or health care provider from being compelled to participate in any healthy care system. Alabamians voted 59 percent to 41 percent to repeal Obamacare. Again . . . amazing.

Roy Moore won the Chief Justice of the Alabama Supreme Court position. He ran a campaign espousing that the court buildings should post the Ten Commandments. Hmm, I wonder if one of the commandments he had in mind was “Thou Shall Not Do Meth.”

I was glad to see a couple of states voting to legalize marijuana. More than 1.6 million per- sons are in prison, and many of them are there for using or selling marijuana. Perhaps this futile war on drugs is ready to take a new turn to freeing up our prison system.

President Barack Obama was re-elected with a big minority vote, especially among Hispanics. Alabama will probably remain a Red State, how- ever, because down here Hispanic immigrants are frowned upon and forced to move to another state. Farmers have no one to work their fields anymore, crops die on the vine, but the good ol’ boys still vote Republican. Go figure.

The one-cent tax to save the school system of Alabama was voted in once again. Maybe President Obama should institute a one-cent tax increase for all Americans whenever they buy something. It seems to work down here without much protest. There are lots of ways to skin a cat. Even an ol’ poll cat.

Bird Talk
•

In 2008, it was estimated that 77 million Americans had grown up watching Sesame Street, learning from the likes of Elmo, Count, and, of course, Big Bird.

The beloved yellow creature was mentioned during last week’s presidential debates, but the topic of discussion was not the lessons he’s taught Sesame Street’s viewers. Rather, Governor Romney pledged to cut funding from public broadcasting and put Big Bird on the chopping block. Romney’s willingness to eliminate the bird that has been a childhood fixture to so many and in actuality receives very little amounts of funding from PBS is indicative of a greater pattern in Romney’s behavior: he has done little to endear himself to a large percentage of the American population. Instead, there seems to be a divide between Romney and the average American.

This was evident during Romney’s April lecture at Otterbein University in Ohio. He suggested that students borrow money from their parents to pay for their education, seemingly indifferent to the idea that such a luxury is simply not feasible for all Americans. While Romney was able to use a stock portfolio his father had given him to support his family during his college years, many other college students are dependent on public funding.

Romney’s 47 percent comments are now infamous, and they further contribute to the divide between the candidate and the average American. He referred to a large percentage of the population as acting “entitled.”

“They should take personal responsibility and care for their lives,” he said. He ultimately stated that his job was “not to worry about those people.” Though Romney later admitted that these comments were “completely wrong,” the damage had already been done. His earlier statement had painted a self-portrait of callousness and indifference, and that is not something easily forgotten.

Between wanting to eliminate a central childhood figure, showing an indifference to the financial realities of a college education, and referring to nearly half of the population as irresponsible and entitled, Romney has done little to make himself a relatable or even likable figure. He has shown indifference to factors that are significant to many Americans, and it will be interesting to see how this will influence his results in next month’s elections. Meanwhile, Big Bird, unsupported by Romney, continues to educate the youth of the nation.

Thank You, Linda
•

After 18 years as the face of Georgetown University at so many neighborhood projects and events, a woman who strove to balance the demands of the community and university has announced her retirement. Linda Greenan, Georgetown University’s associate vice president for external relations, will retire, effective Oct. 1.

Here is what John DeGioia, the university’s president, had to say about Greenan:

“Linda has been a valued and loyal liaison for the university with the city and local community for almost two decades. Since joining the Georgetown University community in 1994, she has represented the university before the District government, the City Council and countless citizen groups and business and professional organizations. She is a respected authority on the city of Washington, its politics and its policies. Rare was an event with the Mayor of Washington when he didn’t single out Linda for her work on behalf of Georgetown. Most recently, Linda served as a key member of a senior leadership team that led the university in the successful passage of our campus plan.

“Over the course of a remarkable career, Linda has served on numerous volunteer and community activities both on campus and in the local community. She has served on the boards of the D.C. Chamber of Commerce and the Humanities Council and served as president of the Georgetown Business Association (2002 to 2006). From 1994 to 2008, she was appointed by three different mayors to the board of the D.C. Sports and Entertainment Commission, which was the city agency responsible for returning Major League Baseball to the city and for the construction of Nationals Stadium. She currently serves on the board of the Washington Convention and Sports Authority, which manages the city’s convention center, Robert F. Kennedy Memorial Stadium, the D.C. Armory and the Carnegie Library.”

Like the university, we in the neighborhood and at this newspaper are quite aware of how Greenan has given her time and support to Washington and Georgetown efforts large and small. Even when on the opposing side of an issue concerning the school, her faith in and love for the betterment of Georgetown were always appreciated. And we always knew the situation would come to a better conclusion because she was involved.

As a successor to Greenan’s work and as part of the Georgetown Community Partnership, the university is creating a new Office of Community Engagement. Lauralyn Lee, who has been with the university for nearly a decade, will lead this office, which will be part of the Office of Public Affairs.
Yes, we also knew that Greenan could not quite be replaced. Good luck, Linda, in the latest chapter of your life. We know you will still be around, and we hope to see you soon.

Nationals Home Opener: It’s Not Just the Game. It’s the Community
• April 9, 2016

The Washington Nationals lost their home opener to the Miami Marlins 4-6 on Thursday, April 7 — after both an exciting opening day program and a rain delay.

The loss will be dwelled on for a day or two, and analysts will debate what went wrong and why the Nationals couldn’t hit with runners in scoring position.

But the game itself is unimportant — there will be 159 others this season to discuss and break down, many more exciting than this one. This opening day was about celebrating the community that makes baseball so special.

Prince William County, Virginia, police officers Jesse Hempen and David McKeown threw out the honorary first pitch in front of a crowd of more than 40,000, the memory immortalized for them in the baseballs signed by pitchers Max Scherzer and Stephen Strasburg.

On Feb. 27, Hempen and McKeown were injured while responding to a domestic altercation. Their colleague, Officer Ashley Guindon, was also shot and fatally wounded in the incident. She and first responders Officer Jacai Colson, Officer Noah Leotta, Lieutenant Kevin McRae and Officer Brennan Rabain were remembered in a moment of silence before the game.

In collectively remembering the slain first responders, in hearing the crowd chant “MVP” as Bryce Harper emerged from the dugout, in watching young kids with their gloves on eagerly awaiting a foul ball, we are reminded of how this sport brings people together.

Governors Larry Hogan of Maryland and Terry McAuliffe of Virginia joined Mayor Muriel Bowser and Metropolitan Police Chief Cathy Lynn Lanier down on the field. After he received his MVP award and a Silver Slugger award, Bowser presented Harper with a key to the city, a symbol of how much this team and its success means to Washington, D.C.

Fans left work early, braved narrow and congested streets and rode Metro’s crowded Green Line to see their team begin the 2016 quest for glory. Anyone who read the weather report knew it would rain and the game would most likely be delayed. They came anyway, and they celebrated together.

The emcee announced that this day was the beginning of “our annual right to hot dogs and high fives” (a right you can enjoy for the bargain price of $6.25 per hot dog!). He called this season’s mission “our one pursuit.” Our.

Baseball is a business. It’s about making money, selling tickets and hoping for the ultimate payoff in a World Series title. But it’s also about uniting fans behind something that inspires them. It’s about making sure that the community that supports the Nationals can count on the team to have their back on and off the field. It’s about the feelings of hope and possibility that come with every new season.

That feeling could be captured during a special moment yesterday.

The sun was shining brilliantly as it does after rain.

The United States Army Chorus Quartet sung “America, the Beautiful,” whose words rang throughout the stadium: “O beautiful for spacious skies …” The cast from “Jersey Boys” at the National Theatre then sang, “The Star-Spangled Banner,” the national anthem, joined to baseball more than a century ago in “the land of the free and the home of the brave.”

The songs ended. The crowd roared yet again. The umpires arrived.

Play ball.
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