Editorials and Opinions

Georgetowner • January 16, 2015

Every year, the holiday season seems to start a little earlier and glow a little brighter. This year was no different with holiday items in stores as early as September and more tree lightings and public holiday events this year than ever before. But, as we begin the holiday season in earnest, I think it’s important to reflect on the past year and to give thanks for all the blessings we enjoy.

Even though I’m elected to be a legislator, I always say half my job is working in the neighborhoods—perhaps the more important half and often the most rewarding. We were able to make some great improvements across the ward this year with renovations to Rose Park in Georgetown, Stead Park in Dupont Circle and Mitchell Park in Kalorama. We saw the beginning of renovations at Hyde-Addison School and the School Without Walls at Francis-Stevens, and the plan to renovate the Stevens School building for use by a school that helps students with developmental disabilities has finally been given approval by the Council. And just this week, we broke ground on Monday for the West End Library. I want to say thank you to all the committed community members who helped make these projects possible.

On the legislative side, we rewrote our tax code to lower taxes for nearly every resident and to expand the Earned Income Tax Credit to help those at the lower end of the income spectrum, and we increased the minimum wage in the District to $11.50 in three annual step increases. These two measures will help promote affordability, diversity and accessibility within the District. Also, of particular importance in Ward 2, my bill to incentivize businesses to buy trash compactors (and prevent rats) passed the Council earlier this month. It has been an honor to work with my colleagues on the Council and Mayor Gray to accomplish these efforts.

I say it often, but I really do have the best staff here at the Council. My office participated in the Council’s food drive again this year, and we appreciated the ability to give directly to families in need. Beyond this, throughout the year, my staff and I are out in the community at neighborhood civic associations, meetings with neighbors and agencies to address problems in the ward and attending community events. I have to say thank you to my dedicated staffers for making their support of our neighbors and residents a 24/7 commitment.

In closing, my family and I, as well as my staff, would like to wish you and yours a happy holiday season. This is always a wonderful time to spend with friends and family—and enjoy a little reflection. Happy New Year, and we will see you again in January!

the Georgetowner Editorial Board • January 14, 2015

-To the editor:

I read with considerable interest your June 2 editorial “Single Sales Ban: We’re Over It.” And I must say that I share your view when you question the need for the law in the first place.

But there are two important facts which your editorial overlooks. First, that resolution, drafted by Commissioner Bill Starrels (“he likes to cook,” according to the resolution) was adopted by the slimmest possible majority: 3-2-0, with Commissioner Golds and myself in opposition, and Commissioners Birch and Solomon in absentia. Further, I’d think as a matter of policy you would mention that the author of the “venomous” tract is a regular contributor to your paper.

Charles F. Eason, Jr.
Commissioner, ANC 2E07

To the editor:

As a longtime resident of Papermill Court in west Georgetown, I am writing out of concern that my fellow Georgetown residents may have developed a negative attitude about our neighborhood after reading an article in last issue of The Georgetowner about rodent control (“Georgetown to City Rats: Look Out,” June 2). The article described our lovely neighborhood as “claustrophobic,” “forgotten,” long-shuttered,” “defunct” and “ripe for infestation.” At least we don’t have any more rats. After reading this article even they won’t come here any more.

Charles Pinck
Georgetown

Georgetowner •

Park Service Pushback

I have had two recent and direct experiences with the National Park Service (Constitution Gardens and P Street Beach) which contradict the position expressed by Charles Pinck in the Georgetowner’s last issue. The National Park Service is not fulfilling its mission of maintenance of the pockets of land unjustifiably owned by them. The Georgetown waterfront receives more NPS attention than the vast majority of their holdings but the pocket areas we all pass every day are miserable … trash, tree limbs, duck detritus, unpruned bushes, etc. … and are testimony to the fact NPS is not doing its job. When that occurs in any other area in the economic system under which we operate, action is taken. And the action required is to turn over all those pocket parks to the city.

To assert that the city will not be a good steward of this land is to cite past history and fail to acknowledge the present good record of our Departments of Parks and Recreation and Public Works. To excuse the National Park Service based on their stewardship of the Georgetown waterfront or Yellowstone National Park is irrelevant to the quality of life in the Nation’s Capital. This issue is not related to private developers swooping in to take over Juarez Circle on Virginia Avenue; it is an issue of inadequate stewardship by NPS.

Linda Frees

Uber Stalled?
I had to chuckle about Jack Evans column on Uber. It’s funny how the District government, which can’t manage its own affairs, seems to be so intent on telling a private business how to run theirs. This is an entity that can’t issue business licenses in a timely manner. The Dmv? I would love to go one time, as I stand in the never ending line, and not see somebody in tears due to frustration. Ease of traffic is a major factor in creating a livable city. Uber gets people through town for a reasonable price. The district government does not know how to create a traffic circle (if the traffic engineers took a freshman class in design they might discover you don’t put a light every 40 feet), time traffic lights or just turn the damn things off at times. How many people have gone to the train station early in the morning with nobody around and sit at a traffic light every block?

We would be better off if Jack Evans would focus on getting his own house in order and keep out of private businesses. I’ll put my faith in Uber over DC government any day.

Sincerely,
Boyd Lewis

Send Your Letters to editorial@georgetowner.com

Georgetowner •

The world seemed to show up in Paris last Sunday, after the terrorist attack at the offices of French magazine Charlie Hebdo. Ten staffers at the satirical (some would say wildly offensive) publication and two police officers were gunned down Jan. 7.
The next day, a police officer was slain, and on the following day – just before the Jewish sabbath – the same person killed four persons at a kosher grocery in the French capital.

Three days of terror left 17 persons dead, excluding three Islamists killed by police.

On Jan. 11, world leaders – along with almost four million others – came together in Paris to rally for freedom of expression and the ideals of the Enlightenment. The biggest assembly ever in France, it was not so much a protest march as a proclamation of unity and support for the values of Western civilization. Whether you were there or just watched it on television, it took your breath away.

Yes, this time it seemed different . . . a new chapter in our new normal, a struggle that may come to define the 21st century. France called the attacks their 9/11 and declared the country at “war against terrorism, against jihadism, against radical Islamism, against everything that is intended to break fraternity, liberty, solidarity.”

In D.C., the first night after the attack, people rallied at the Newseum for free expression and to honor the memory of the Charlie Hebdo victims. On Sunday, there was a march from the Newseum to the Law Enforcement Officers Memorial. Christine Lagarde, head of the International Monetary Fund, who has held ministerial posts in the French government, was at both events.
No one representing the federal government attended either event.

By now, everyone is aware that the Obama administration sent no one to Sunday’s rally in Paris – save Jane Hartley, the U.S. Ambassador to France. The omission revealed a lack of emotional intelligence and lack of leadership by the White House. It moved the New York Daily News to write a striking headline to the administration: “You let the world down.”

We missed the moment. Shame on the administration. Shame on us.

Aside from a renewed sense of cooperation in fighting terrorism, what do we take away from this moment? How steadfast are we in defending the right of free expression for everyone and every opinion – which includes the right to offend? Supreme Court Justice Oliver Wendell Holmes called it the “freedom for the thought that we hate.”

Our citizens should follow that lead; the First Amendment to the U.S. Constitution protects both freedom of the press and freedom of speech.

Let’s keep talking freely. It is one of our greatest weapons against terrorism and extremism.

Georgetowner • December 5, 2014

Ferguson, Mo., was a warzone the night of Nov. 24, after local prosecutor Robert P. McCulloch announced that a St. Louis County grand jury decided not to indict police officer Darren Wilson in the killing of Michael Brown. The police chief called the scene, “Worse than the worst night we had in August.” Viewers tuned to cable news to see cop cars and buildings on fire, hear gunshots and tear gas canisters explode and witness heavily armed police officers marching in line like an infantry against protesters. But this occupying army (as it appeared) let the city burn.
McCulloch, seemingly the army’s leader, announced the no-indictment decision at night, giving cover to some that he should have known from past experience would incite violence. He triggered more anger by making a case for Wilson’s innocence at the press conference. It is worth asking whether McCulloch and his office intended to fan the flames of unrest or are just flat-out incompetent.
The next day, we learned that McCulloch took a hands-off approach during the entire process, essentially guaranteeing that Wilson would not be indicted. He never ordered Wilson’s arrest, and he relinquished the traditional role of the prosecution, dumping all of the evidence on the grand jury rather than presenting an argument for indictment. Hence, Wilson’s story – which contradicted those of numerous eyewitnesses in its narrative of Brown’s alleged attacks on Wilson – was not cross-examined. The grand jury was given little to no guidance.
Protesters assembled on Nov. 25 in every major American city, chanting, “Black lives matter” and “No justice, no peace” – not only because they thought Wilson should be charged for Brown’s death, but also because it became more and more clear that McCulloch gave Wilson special treatment during the grand jury process.
There is still hope for justice, though. The Justice Department’s Civil Rights Division has the opportunity to bring criminal charges against Wilson and to overhaul the Ferguson Police Department’s training with regard to racial profiling and use of force. We urge the Justice Department to hasten their investigations in the hope that this will alleviate the violence and heartbreak in Ferguson. But we also insist that the Civil Rights Division expand the scope of its investigation to McCulloch and St. Louis County’s grand jury procedures.
There are still many steps that need to be taken to improve race relations and minimize police brutality in the U.S. Whether or not the Justice Department acts on Ferguson, we hope that protesters around the country continue to air their grievances peacefully and that police do not encroach on Americans’ right to assemble.

Jack Evans •

The District of Columbia lost one of its founding fathers last week when Marion Barry, Civil Rights leader, mayor, council member, passed away at the age of 78.

During my time in D.C. and in local government, we have experienced an incredible amount of change as a city, but there has always been one constant: Marion Barry. From my earliest days in the District, I’ve always known a city with Marion Barry. I moved to Washington in September 1978 and started working as an attorney at the Securities and Exchange Commission on a Monday. The next day, Marion won the Democratic primary for the Mayor of Washington, D.C. He truly was my “Mayor for Life.”

For the last 10 years, I’ve had the office right next door to Marion. Serving on the Council together was like having an historical figure right within your reach. I had the opportunity to travel with him around the country and the world, and no matter where we were everyone always came up to him and wanted to take their picture with him. From Las Vegas to South Africa, people loved Marion Barry.

In the 35 years I knew him, he never backed down from his belief that Washington, D.C. should do more, should be more, for every person who lives here. Marion looked out for people who were down and out and he should always be remembered for that.
Most people know that Marion Barry served as Mayor of Washington, D.C. longer than anyone else in history, and everyone knows of his infamous struggles, but many people are unaware of how integral a role Marion played in the Civil Rights movement.

Marion participated in the Nashville sit-ins in 1960 as a student at Fisk University. Later that same year, he was elected the first chairman of the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee, one of the most important groups of the Civil Rights movement. It was through SNCC that he first came to Washington, D.C.

During those early years in Washington, he helped to organize boycotts and peaceful demonstrations. He fought for District home rule. He went to the federal government and won funding to establish Pride, Inc., a jobs training program for unemployed black men.

Helping people find jobs became a passion for Marion, and he made it his life’s work. As mayor, he created the Mayor’s Summer Youth Employment Program, which has provided summer jobs to nearly every young Washingtonian over the last 25 years, including my triplets, and through his final days on the Council, he kept fighting for “the last, the lost, the least,” as he would say.
While Marion is gone, his belief in a better District for all residents lives on. It’s now for the rest of us to continue to make it so.
My thoughts and prayers continue to be with his wife, Cora, his son, Christopher, and the hundreds of thousands of Washingtonians who loved Marion Barry.

Jack Evans is the Ward 2 Councilmember, representing Georgetown since 1991.

Georgetowner • December 4, 2014

Georgetowner •

Council member Jack Evans appears to be gearing up for a fight to take back from the Federal Government some of the city’s most valuable assets, including many of its parks, squares, and Georgetown waterfront. In his column in the Nov. 19 Georgetowner, Evans writes of the District’s desire for a measure of self-determination: “From the Georgetown Waterfront to Franklin Square to Pennsylvania Avenue, local control of parks and roads in the District is a win-win for the District and Federal governments. The Republican Congress can shrink the size of the Federal Government, and the District can more appropriately utilize those spaces for city residents.”

The council member’s thoughts appear to be well in-line with many in the city who are frustrated by the imposed infantilization of the community at the hands of the federal government. Examples of our lack of control abound. The National Park Service controls about 637 parcels of land in the District for a total of 6,776 acres, with 425 of those parcels tiny at an acre or less. Little money or care is spent by the NPS in maintaining those spaces and they are generally desolate, empty and sad.

The city made what many now see as a deal with the devil when it ceded control of most of the Georgetown waterfront to the NPS in the 1980s. The arrangement was structured in large measure to avoid the associated maintenance costs and a real fear among some in the Council that the area would be forever lost to developers as a quick, but shortsighted way to help fill the city’s empty coffers.

The chickens have now come home to roost, and the true downside of the deal is glaringly apparent. While the NPS could become a true partner with the people of Georgetown, it appears to have its own plans and private agenda as to how to use the most valuable property in the District. We have seen recently how the federal agency is tone-deaf to local wishes, as it repeatedly bungled the waterfront for boaters from Thompson Boat Center down to Fletcher’s Boathouse. This indifference was brought to light in 2012 during the Jack’s Boathouse debacle when, despite a huge outcry by thousands of citizens, civic leaders and city political leaders, the NPS threw out long-time local operators to place Boston-based concessionaires in the spot.

The NPS’s curious indifference for local needs was detailed in a Washington Post article, headlined, “The Grand Canyon or Logan Circle? It’s all the same to the Park Service.” The Post story frames the problem as, “A bureaucratic mentality at the National Park Service that insists on applying the same regulations at the Grand Canyon and Logan Circle, without recognizing the vastly different role that parks play in urban settings.” The Post goes on to opine: “The Park Service throws up obstacles to new ideas rather than work with local communities to find solutions, even when doing so would advance the agency’s mission of preserving national resources for the enjoyment of all.” There is no argument that the District has an important national interest that surely needs consideration, but that’s not happening as well as it could be. Beyond the national concerns and politics, D.C. is the home of more than 600,000 citizens, who are in a far better position to decide, protect, promote and pay for the kind of neighborhood public spaces they deserve without having to beg for the morsels tossed from the federal government.

Perhaps we’re grasping at straws by reading too much into the few words that Evans wrote, but we’re hoping it means that getting our land back is a priority for him and the city. If that’s the case, we look forward to hearing about the next steps to make it happen.

Georgetowner •

He never really left the stage. And now he’s gone.

For nearly 50 years, Marion Barry was a force to be reckoned with. There were those who idolized him and saw him as their only champion. Others detested him and viewed him as an odious, destructive presence.

One thing that cannot be taken away from Barry: he was a very successful politician. He was elected mayor of the District of Columbia four times. The last time was truly amazing. He had been in prison for six months just a few years before, but came back in 1994 and reclaimed the highest office.

Even hobbled by poor health during his last days, he was still an elected official, representing Ward 8 on the District Council. He could have served there forever.

A self-proclaimed “situationist,” Barry formulated himself to fit each and every situation. In 1974, when he was first elected to the D.C. Council, he was a dashiki-clad militant activist. The at-large position required him to win citywide. Four years later, he needed to moderate his image. So he became a pinstriped politician who romanced Georgetown and Cleveland Park residents in their living rooms. He won them over and began his reign as mayor.

In 1982, Barry was supposed to face a formidable foe: former cabinet secretary and ambassador Patricia Roberts Harris. The story is told that while Harris was testing the waters for her potential run, she ventured out to Anacostia. After giving a speech, she felt quite satisfied, thinking she had connected with the crowd. She sat down. Seated next to her was Barry. He leaned over and whispered in her ear, “I’m going to kick your ass.”
And that’s exactly what he did. He cleaned her clock, winning seven of eight wards. I dare you to name his 1986 opponent.

To those who did not want D.C. to have more home rule, congressional representation and ultimately statehood, Barry was the perfect justification for saying, “No.” His personal life, the bloated government payroll and corruption by close aides and friends all combined to hold D.C. back. We, the citizens of D.C., suffered. We suffer even today.

As a person, Barry was not vindictive or mean-spirited. He once told me that there was only one person in this city he would not speak to. Barry played the race card when needed. But more than anything he was a big-city mayor in the mold of Richard J. Daley, Boss Tweed, Boss Crump and James Michael Curley. That’s the way I believe he wanted to be remembered.

Georgetowner •

Ferguson, Mo., was a warzone the night of Nov. 24, after local prosecutor Robert P. McCulloch announced that a St. Louis County grand jury decided not to indict police officer Darren Wilson in the killing of Michael Brown. The police chief called the scene, “Worse than the worst night we had in August.” Viewers tuned to cable news to see cop cars and buildings on fire, hear gunshots and tear gas canisters explode and witness heavily armed police officers marching in line like an infantry against protesters. But this occupying army (as it appeared) let the city burn.

McCulloch, seemingly the army’s leader, announced the no-indictment decision at night, giving cover to some that he should have known from past experience would incite violence. He triggered more anger by making a case for Wilson’s innocence at the press conference. It is worth asking whether McCulloch and his office intended to fan the flames of unrest or are just flat-out incompetent.

The next day, we learned that McCulloch took a hands-off approach during the entire process, essentially guaranteeing that Wilson would not be indicted. He never ordered Wilson’s arrest, and he relinquished the traditional role of the prosecution, dumping all of the evidence on the grand jury rather than presenting an argument for indictment. Hence, Wilson’s story – which contradicted those of numerous eyewitnesses in its narrative of Brown’s alleged attacks on Wilson – was not cross-examined. The grand jury was given little to no guidance.

Protesters assembled on Nov. 25 in every major American city, chanting, “Black lives matter” and “No justice, no peace” – not only because they thought Wilson should be charged for Brown’s death, but also because it became more and more clear that McCulloch gave Wilson special treatment during the grand jury process.

There is still hope for justice, though. The Justice Department’s Civil Rights Division has the opportunity to bring criminal charges against Wilson and to overhaul the Ferguson Police Department’s training with regard to racial profiling and use of force. We urge the Justice Department to hasten their investigations in the hope that this will alleviate the violence and heartbreak in Ferguson. But we also insist that the Civil Rights Division expand the scope of its investigation to McCulloch and St. Louis County’s grand jury procedures.

There are still many steps that need to be taken to improve race relations and minimize police brutality in the U.S. Whether or not the Justice Department acts on Ferguson, we hope that protesters around the country continue to air their grievances peacefully and that police do not encroach on Americans’ right to assemble.