K Street
Dear Television Watchers:
A recurrent theme in themail has been complaints about the way that
Washington is portrayed in television programs. Even before The District
debuted, people complained that the series would exaggerate the amount
of violent crime in DC. That's why I'm astounded that no one has written
during this television season to complain about two series. The Lyon's
Den, had anyone watched it, could have given people the idea that
Washington was populated with sleazy, unscrupulous lawyers. Even worse,
K Street could have given people the idea that the typical Washingtonian
is James Carville, the human embodiment of the truth that you don't have
to have a law degree to be sleazy and unscrupulous. Luckily, K Street
has been unexpectedly boring, so boring that Lisa de Moraes' weekly
recaps of the show's plot in the Washington Post have been
subtitled, “We Watch So You Don't Have To.” That leaves Washington
as the setting of only two current successful television series, the
alternate universe fantasy lands of The District and The West Wing. It
almost makes me nostalgic for Hawk.
Gary Imhoff
themail@dcwatch.com
###############
Zoning Alert: Will Your Block Be Rezoned
Without Your Approval?
Deborah Akel, dakel@earthlink.net
If you live in the District, you should know about a proposal that is
before the DC Zoning Commission. It's called HDRR (High Density
Residential Retail) Overlay. This "overlay" proposal would
affect areas that are currently zoned R-5-D and R-5-E residential,
opening the way for developers to put in commercial space and build
taller buildings. This measure, being pushed through by a developer,
will allow for “patchwork” rezoning of areas that developers deem
attractive for redevelopment. This type of spot rezoning appeases
developers at the expense of residents and alters the fabric of a
neighborhood. In my West End neighborhood, for example, it could mean
the loss of our historic, 45-unit apartment building — the last
affordable housing in the neighborhood — as well as the West End
library.
There is already a glut of empty commercial retail space in the West
End. Rezoning to make room for more just doesn’t make sense. The
Ritz-Carlton, for example, promised West End residents movie theaters,
Starbuck's, restaurants, a shopping mall, and other amenities in
exchange for decimating an entire block. Years later, 90 percent of
their ground-floor retail space still sits empty, and no one has held
them accountable. If you support affordable housing, or are opposed to
zoning changes that benefit developers at the expense of residents, let
your voice be heard at a public hearing at 6:30 p.m. on Thursday,
November 13, at the Office of Zoning, 441 4th Street, NW, Suite 220
South, at the Judiciary Square Metro stop. To sign up to testify, call
the Zoning Office at 727-6311. For detailed information on the HDRR
proposal, see: http://dcoz.dc.gov/services/zoning/schedule/2003/111303_01-22doc.shtm.
###############
If my ever-more-unreliable memory serves me correctly, during the
early debates on what should still be laughingly called home rule here,
I think then-representative Caldwell Butler (I believe of Virginia) once
proposed that the city would (should or could) get three voting
representatives in the house, but no Senators. Does anyone out there
remember any such proposal? I know I should be checking the debates
archives of the Library of Congress but, frankly, I have neither the
time nor, as a third generation Washingtonian, enough intellectual or
emotional scar tissue (yet) to do that.
Anyway, I wonder if anyone else here On The Reservation thinks that
three members of the house, but no senators, would be an acceptable
compromise in the DC voting representation wars? Before you reflexively
shoot the idea down, flip through a book called The Frozen Republic by
David Lazard. He makes several interesting arguments that — if this
country ever wanted to complete the transition from a republic (which is
all the Constitution guarantees) to a democracy (which is never referred
to in either the Constitution or the Declaration of Independence) — it
would abolish the Senate. Something to think about over the holidays.
###############
A few days ago, a sixteen-page 11"x17" color brochure
arrived in the mail, shortly in advance of the November 15 Citizen
Summit. Some of the information in the “Making Neighborhoods Safer”
section seems a bit bizarre, especially the graphs. For some unexplained
reason, the graphs selected the “comparable” cities of Milwaukee,
Baltimore, Buffalo, Newark, Boston, and Philadelphia. Why are we
comparing ourselves only to these particular cities? Buffalo? Anyway,
the first graph clearly shows that we have the third highest rate of
property crimes of the listed cities. The legend then says that “the
District is faring better than comparable cities, like Baltimore and
Milwaukee.” But since the graph shows us as third worst, apparently
those two are the only cities we're doing better than! The third chart
shows that we have the highest rate of homicides, stating that, “while
there was an increase in homicides at the start of 2003, as of October
that trend has been reversed.” Give me a break. All of the sudden, the
trend has been reversed because of a slight slowdown in murders between
the beginning of October and the time the brochure was sent to the
printer? According to the MPD web site, as of November 11, there were
212 murders this year, compared to 216 this time last year. What a
reversal. Meanwhile, the text says that we now have 1,859 police
assigned to patrol duties in the neighborhoods. Since MPD has a force of
about 3,700 officers, what are the other approximately 1,840 officers
doing?
###############
DC Primary, Binding or Not?
Mark Segraves, ABC 7 News/Newschannel 8, msegraves@wjla.com
An exasperated Jack Evans says it's time to make the DC primary more
than just a beauty contest. In an exclusive interview, Evans tells
NewsChannel 8 he intends to make the January 13th event “binding,”
meaning the candidate who emerges victorious would earn approximately
one third of the delegates DC sends to the Democratic convention in
Boston next summer. Appearing on NewsTalk, Evans said: "Why not
just make this a binding primary on January 13th? Whoever wins then gets
the delegates that are selected in March. And then, let the chips fall
where they may. If we do that as a Council and the local (Democratic)
party sues us, because that's their authority, so be it. I'm just tired
of dealing with people because frankly you can't trust anybody
anymore." Evans also indicated he and others on the Council hope to
keep on the ballot the names of five presidential hopefuls who have
expressed a desire to come off.
Scott Bolden, the head of the DC Democratic State Committee, said
Evans's legislation won't fly. “The sole power and authority and
jurisdiction for creating a binding primary resides with the party,”
he tells NewsChannel 8. Bolden said he admires Evans's enthusiasm and
commitment to the issue of voting rights, and he said local party
leaders are committed to moving the city's primary ahead of Iowa and New
Hampshire in 2008. But he called Evans's legislation “a dangerous
precedent” and “legally unenforceable.” He said moving DC's
primary to mid-January was “a dangerous political effort from the
beginning.”
Evans acknowledged both proposals face potential legal obstacles, but
he said any resulting controversy will be worth it if it keeps the issue
of the city's lack of voting rights in Congress in the public eye.
That's the issue that led the Mayor and Council to move the city's
primary to early January to begin with.
###############
Reply to Skunked on the Primary
Linda Lancaster, lindal641@aol.com
You hit that nail right on the head! And I am a diehard Democrat but
I think this is gone past publicity. I think that we are going to make
the wrong statement on January 13. With all the recent mishaps aside,
historically special elections have extremely low voter turnouts. Then
when you factor in the month of January, in which it could be bitter
cold or we could be knee high in snow, this idea does not look good at
all. I hope that it all turns out well and the statement that we make is
a positive one.
But now the huge task at hand is how to get DC residents to come out,
when we are having low voter turnout for regular elections. We need a
lot of prayers!
###############
Primary Thinking
S. Taylor, Virginia friend of the District, msygolfer@aol.com
Why is it that the city is not capable of visualizing a broad
strategy? Since the primary was always going to be symbolic because of
the Democratic National Committee's prohibitions, mightn't our
leadership have considered a coalition with the Iowa and New Hampshire
primary folks, explaining that the city's primary was meant to publicize
nationally the gap in democracy that exists at the seat of national
government in the US. Together they would have made news as working
together to educate Americans about an issue that many don't really
understand. Everybody would have had an opportunity to get what they all
want -- publicity and the opportunity to be seen as taking the high road
as it relates to advancing democracy in America.
[DNC Chairman Terry] McCaullife would have been fenced in, the
candidates would have had clear sailing to appear “symbolically” in
support of the District. We've got to learn to think, as they say in
business, outside the box.
###############
GOP Leader Urges Council to Quit Meddling with
DC Primary
Carl Schmid, carschmid@aol.com
“Enough is enough,” said DC Republican Chairman Betsy Werronen
after learning that certain Councilmembers plan to introduce legislation
that would force the five Democratic Presidential candidates to appear
on the January 13th primary ballot-even though they have expressly taken
their names off of it. “This action would make a bad situation even
worse,” added Werronen. “It makes a further mockery of the entire
election process and undermines public credibility. It is another
striking example of one-party rule gone amok. It is time for the Council
and the Mayor to save the District the $350,000 it will cost DC
taxpayers for putting on a non-binding beauty contest. They need to
admit that it was wrong to meddle with the process, and write it all off
as a bad idea!”
“DC Republicans will hold a Presidential Preference Caucus on
February 10, 2004, and pay for it ourselves. Democrats should do the
same,” said Werronen. Werronen further added, “When the DC Council
first decided to move the date of the Presidential Preference Primary to
January 13, 2004, in order to be ‘first in the nation,' the DC
Republican Party objected. We subsequently withdrew because the early
timing broke the rules of both national political parties and broke the
time honored tradition of New Hampshire and Iowa first. When the
Democratic candidates showed little interest in participating in the
early January Primary, the Council again intervened and placed the names
of all nationally known candidates on the ballot. The Council broke DC
election tradition by eliminating the requirement for candidates to file
nominating petitions to qualify to be on the ballot. This action
eliminated a fundamental element of the election process so essential to
public confidence.
“When five of the nine Democratic Presidential candidates
officially withdrew from the January Primary, they made it clearer than
ever that the Council's decisions were ill-advised. Yet members of the
Council threaten to intervene again by introducing legislation to put
the names of the withdrawn candidates back on the ballot! Enough is
enough.”
###############
The DC Presidential Primary
Jason Juffras, jjuffras at aol dot com
In his latest broadside against the DC Democrats' January 13, 2004,
presidential primary, Gary claims that, “Taxpayers will be stuck with
a bill of around $350,000 just so fewer than half of the Democratic
candidates can participate in a beauty contest.”
Indeed, this is the same $350,000 that the District has spent every
four years on its presidential primary, which began in 1976 and has
previously been held on the first Tuesday in May. Therefore, the net
cost of the January primary is zero, and moving up a primary that came
too late to have any impact, or attract any attention, is certainly a
worthwhile experiment. The ultimate impact of DC's first-in-the-nation
primary in January is still uncertain, but we clearly have nothing to
lose by moving our primary to the front of the line.
###############
Losers Bowed Out of the Primary
Sean Tenner, DC Democracy Fund, stenner@mrss.com
The five candidates who bowed out of the DC primary didn't do so
because the primary is against the rules (it isn't), or because it
violates New Hampshire law (it doesn't) or because DC's elected
officials were wrong to give DC the nation's first primary (they
weren't). I have news for people who love to bash our city: These guys
bowed out for one reason only — they didn't want to lose to Howard
Dean in the nation's first contest.
All these dropout candidates tried to garner support here. Dick
Gephardt had a DC meet-up that had to be canceled because fewer than
five people showed up. Joe Lieberman held a DC campaign rally a few
weeks ago that drew more reporters than regular voters. John Edwards
held meet and greets with DC elected officials. But none of them came
close to generating the endorsements and excitement that Dean did here.
So they dropped out rather than lose — just like some of them did in
Iowa, and will do in the other states. Additionally, Sharpton, Mosely-Braun
and Kucinich are also generating more excitement in DC than these
insider candidates. This isn't DC's fault. Its just politics.
###############
Primary Reasons
Mark David Richards, Dupont East, mark@bisconti.com
The DC January 13 primary was the right thing to do to raise national
awareness of a two century injustice that cannot continue, beginning
with the nation's political elites (both media and political officials).
DC's elected officials, both Democratic and Republican, were courageous.
This effort has resulted in some real educational opportunities over a
very short time, just a few months. We have had endless conversations
with Presidential campaigns and with the media, explaining what this is
all about. Political attentives nationwide are watching this, for many
different reasons. Yes, we have to delay our delegate selection because
a slim majority of the DSC was not willing to stand up and make the
primary binding. They listened to the DNC and they were afraid they
couldn't get out the vote. So they made it non-binding. There were a lot
of factors and rumors associated with that rapid and bad decision and we
are past that now. We have a new Democratic Party leader. Now, the
mayor, the Council, civil and voting rights activists, some in the DSC,
and many others are working to make our January 13 primary a success. We
all need to vote in the primary. All of us, but especially the DSC,
needs to spend a lot of resources educating DC citizens. Some Ward
Chairs are leading on this effort, including Linda Greenan and Eugene
Kinlow and Phil Pannell. The primary vote will give us a very clear
picture of the state of DC opinion regarding the candidates, and that
will most certainly impact strongly on the Feb. caucuses. The most
important element of the early primaries is not delegates, but rather
momentum.
Among Democrats, I highly recommend voting for Dean, Braun, Kucinich,
or Sharpton because they are asking for DC's vote by having their names
on our ballot. I support Dean and we can get into a discussion about the
virtues of the various candidates at another time. But I think we need
to be clear that this is not a waste of money. I am insulted that the DC
Republican Party, whose national party doesn't even have DC voting
rights in its platform and whose candidate openly opposes DC voting
rights, would stoop to sending out press advisories saying our primary
is a waste of money. (I know the DC Republican Party is not short on
money.) The Republican Party wanted to opt out and they did so. End of
story. Their anti-January 13 primary actions aren't going to increase
the number of registered Republicans in DC. (If the DC Republican Party
wants to increase the number of registered Republicans, they should give
greater weight to Carol Schwartz and David Catania.) We were going to
have a meaningless primary in May and now we're having a more meaningful
political season, in which we will kick off the primary season in
January and continue to elect our delegates in February/March. This
primary effort is something many groups and individuals tried and have
worked hard to make succeed, against all odds really. And I hope it
works to advance DC equal rights. That is the ultimate goal. In four
years, we will have the next opportunity in a Presidential election. But
right now, the January 13 primary is a net benefit for the citizens of
DC. Get involved, register your neighbors, and vote!
###############
Recall the Recallers
James Treworgy, jamie@trewtech.com
I can't believe my eyes. Despite my serious problems with the
Williams administration, didn't people learn a single thing from
California? We have a democratic process in place in this country. I'm
ready to cast my vote for a better candidate than Williams at the next
election, assuming there is one, but if recalls become en vogue we can
expect nothing less than the complete halt of government function.
Elected offices can't operate like this. We watch every elected
official waste large amounts of their time and money in reelection
campaigns, instead of doing work, with the two- and four-year election
cycles that we have now. If we add “recall” to the list of things
that every elected official has to start worrying about — not just
around election time but every day — our public offices will become
nothing more than a real-time game of king of the hill, where any
well-financed bully can push someone out the moment their popularity
dips.
Sorry, but we have elections for this purpose. If someone's broken
the law, we have an impeachment process. But the standards for a recall
are just too low. They are nothing less than another way to use money,
rather than democracy, to change the balance of power. Elections are
already a popularity contest and greatly driven by the whims of the
hour. It's bad enough this has to happen every two or four years, but to
allow it any time you want would be the end of government as we know it.
###############
Recall of Mayor
William M. Mazer, wmmazer@aol.com
Reading the couple of E-mails in your most recent newsletter
concerning the possibility of recalling the mayor, I suddenly
experienced a profound shock. Is there any law that prevents any
individual from serving as an elected officer of two different
jurisdictions simultaneously? If not, what if Schwarzenegger ran for
mayor of DC in a recall election? That's a chance we may have to take.
###############
I think recalling Tony Williams is a great idea -- and I agree with
John [Aravosis, themail, November 9] that a recall should extend to
council members who support Chuck Ramsey. Even if we fail, we'll send a
message that we're not happy with our officials.
###############
Ed Barron asked in themail (November 10), “Did I Do the Right
Thing?” by signing up for the Do Not Call list to block calls from
telemarketers. One problem with the Do Not Call feature [on instruments
that are sold to block unwanted calls] that people may not realize is
that, in addition to preventing calls from telemarketers, the feature
also can block calls from pay phones that could be calls from loved ones
(perhaps of an emergency nature). I had this experience a few years ago
when I was visiting NYC without my cell phone, and needed to make phone
calls to DC. I was unable to reach one person because she has the
anti-telemarketer feature, which did not recognize the NYC pay phone I
was calling from, assumed I was an ever-dreaded telemarketer, and
blocked my friend from receiving my phone call.
Rather than taking the chance of missing even one call from family
and friends — whether emergency or friendly — I'd much rather
politely and promptly tell telemarketers, “Thank you, but I'm not
interested.” My preference is the caller ID feature, which identifies
most calls, and allows me to make a judgment about answering calls from
unknown or private numbers. Better safe than sorry.
###############
So far, it appears to me that this FTC service has been a boon! I
have several separate phone lines at my residence, and all are listed
and all seem to have stopped ringing (except from real people I care
about). One of the most noticeable changes was the total evaporation of
sales calls from AT&T. They (well, their contracted-out telephone
solicitation callers, actually) have seemingly disappeared from the face
of the Earth. They were the worst. On some days, I could receive calls
on all my phones from them. And telling them to put me on AT&T's do
not call list never worked — and, remember, before the FTC list we
always were supposed to be able to instruct individual telemarketers to
stop calling when we asked to be added to their lists. I would either be
told, “Yes, we will add you” — but I never was — or I would be
told they were not really AT&T but only were contracted to make the
calls (but since they were AT&T's agents, AT&T was nevertheless
responsible). This was all so ironic, given that the FTC selected
AT&T to be the contractor to maintain the new national list!
###############
Getting Around “Do Not Call”
Star Lawrence, jkellaw@aol.com
I wondered how long it would take the greatest marketing minds of any
generation to get around the “Do Not Call” list. I learned the
answer was a few weeks. I got a call from MCI Neighborhood and said,
“You are not supposed to call me.” The guy stammered around, then
said, "I also want to talk to you about your Southwest Airlines
Rapid Rewards program." I slammed down the phone and called
Southwest. After the trials of the damned getting a live person, I
expressed my outrage at their transferring their “relationship” with
me to these Desk Weasels. They said, “MCI is our partner. Many people
want to sign up to get more miles.” See? This is how it will go.
###############
Worn Streets, Empty Schools, Trolleys and
Robert Bobb
Len Sullivan, lsnarpac@bellatlantic.net
How much road wear and tear is really caused by DC's incoming
commuters? How many schools should DCPS have closed to match six years
of declining enrollment? Why might light rail trolley tracks defeat the
continued expansion of Metrorail? What would you tell DC's new City
Administrator about DC's "big picture"? And how do the two
cities that Robert Bobb has recently managed, as well as the two cities
that moved ahead of DC last year in population, compare to the nation's
capital city? NARPAC's answers are now on line. Check out the October
update of its web site at http://www.narpac.org/INTHOM.HTM.
Try a new approach to making DC better. Help keep it honest. Get
positively involved.
###############
CLASSIFIEDS — EVENTS
Events at the Woman’s National Democratic
Club, November 13-December 2
Jessica Baden, jbaden@democraticwoman.org
The Woman's National Democratic Club, 1526 New Hampshire Avenue, NW,
will host the following events. On Thursday, November 13, at 12:00 p.m.,
Jonathan Dean will speak on Mending Fences with Friends, Allies and the
UN. A solitary superpower in isolation from the rest of the world needs
to repair its relationships, says former Ambassador Jonathan Dean,
immediate past president of the United Nations Association of the
National Capital Area, (UNA/NCA). Since 1984, he has been Advisor on
International Security Issues for the Union of Concerned Scientists, one
of the largest science-based NGOs in the USA. Dean chairs the UNA/NCA
Task Force on Peace and Security, which is currently dealing with
prevention of terrorism, preemption strategy, and improving
peacekeeping. He is a cofounder of Global Action to Prevent War, an
organization devoted to stopping armed conflict. During the 1960s he
worked with UN peace keepers in the Congo when Patrice Lumumba was
assassinated and replaced by Mobutu. He was a negotiator for the
agreement that ended three decades of wrangling over Berlin and was U.
S. representative to the NATO-Warsaw Pact Force reduction talks in
Vienna. He is an author of several books and a graduate of the National
War College.
On Tuesday, November 18, at 12:00 p.m., Bethine Church will speak on
A Lifelong Affair: My Passion for People and Politics. Ms. Church is a
politically savvy woman who met her husband in high school and was his
closest advisor for more than forty years until his untimely death from
cancer at the age of 59. Bethine Church, the widow of Senator Frank
Church of Idaho, has written a book which details this remarkable
journey. In 1956, with $6,000 in the bank, they set out on their first
campaign. Bethine drove, while Frank wrote press releases. Frank was
told by Democratic Party advisors that it was unwise for his wife to be
so closely involved with his campaign. His reply: "We are going to
go right on being exactly what we have always been: partners."
Bethine Church remains as active as ever in Idaho. Her autobiography, A
Lifelong Affair, with observations about everyone from Jack Kennedy to
Lyndon Johnson, Richard Nixon, Richard Helms, John McCain, and many
others will be available. Bethine will be introduced by her son,
Reverend Forrest Church.
On Thursday, November 20, at 6:30 p.m., Gary Wills will speak on A
Fresh Perspective to Thomas Jefferson's Presidency. Please join us for a
stimulating evening with one of the most versatile and prolific
intellectuals of our time. A distinguished historian, critic, and
political observer, Gary Wills is the author of an astonishing variety
of publications, among them Lincoln at Gettysburg: The Words that Remade
America (1992), for which he won the Pulitzer Prize, and Papal Sin:
Structures of Deceit (2000). A regular contributor to the New York
Times, Mr. Wills has also garnered the prestigious 1998 National Medal
for the Humanities. After being introduced by MSNBC’s Bill Press, Mr.
Wills will discuss his book, Negro President, his reappraisal of the
circumstances under which Jefferson was elected in 1800. Although he had
fewer votes than John Adams, Jefferson exploited a Constitutional
provision, giving slave-holding southern states a disproportionate
influence in the Electoral College. Wills will explore the effect this
provision had on Jefferson’s key decisions and policies. This event
will be cosponsored by the Nation’s Capital Branch of the
English-Speaking Union.
For more information and reservations, contact Patricia Fitzgerald,
232-7363 or pfitzgerald@democraticwoman.org.
###############
TechSem: Cost Effective Content Management,
November 15
Barbara Conn, bconn@cpcug.org
This TechSem, an introduction to web site content management for
business owners, IT managers, web developers, communicators, designers,
and information architects, will be presented by Steve Drucker, CEO of
Fig Leaf Software. After reviewing basic content management system (CMS)
concepts, principles, capabilities, and features, the functionality and
price points of six industry-leading products from different vendors
will be compared and contrasted: Macromedia Contribute, Ektron CMS,
Paperthin CommonSpot, Microsoft Content Management Server, LayerIT CMS,
and SiteExecutive CMS. Pitfalls that can occur during CMS
implementations and deployments will also be discussed.
Gather your friends, colleagues, and family members and bring them to
this Saturday, November 15, 1:00 p.m. (check-in: 12:45 p.m.), three-hour
TechSem of the Capital PC User Group (CPCUG) Entrepreneurs and
Consultants Special Interest Group (E&C SIG). This free TechSem will
be at the Cleveland Park Library (Second Floor Large Meeting Room) at
3310 Connecticut Avenue, NW, just over a block from the Cleveland Park
Metrorail Station on the Red Line. For more information about this
TechSem, the speaker, CPCUG (a 501(c)(3) nonprofit educational
organization), and to register for the event, visit http://www.cpcug.org/user/entrepreneur/1103meet.html.
###############
National Building Museum Events, November
18-22
Briana Hensold, bhensold@nbm.org
Tuesday, November 18, 6:30-8:00 p.m., Spotlight on Design with Julie
Snow. Julie Snow Architects was selected by the New York Architectural
League as one of its “Emerging Voices in Architecture” in 1998 for
work that strives for clarity and directness with restraint and minimal
means. Julie Snow, FAIA, principal of the Minneapolis-based studio, will
discuss her wide-ranging public and private work, honored with numerous
awards, including a 2002 American Architecture Award from the Chicago
Athenaeum and an I.D. Magazine Design Review Award. Admission $12
Members; $17 nonmembers: $5 students. Prepaid registration required.
Wednesday, November 19, 12:30-1:30 p.m., National Awards for Smart
Growth Achievement. Smart growth results in more livable communities,
better use of existing infrastructure, and greater environmental
benefits by preserving open space, improving transportation choices,
promoting brownfield redevelopment, and reducing polluted water runoff.
Join the US Environmental Protection Agency when it presents the EPA’s
second annual National Award for Smart Growth Achievement, a highly
competitive program honoring public agencies that have successfully
created smart growth. Free. Advance registration requested to ensure
adequate seating. Visit http://www.epa.gov/smartgrowth/awards.htm
for registration information.
Saturday, November 22, 1:00-3:00 p.m., The Apartment. In this 1960
Billy Wilder film, Shirley MacLaine stars as a melancholy elevator
operator having an affair with Jack Lemmon's boss. The film received six
Academy Awards, including Best Picture. Presented in conjunction with
the exhibition Up, Down, Across: Elevators, Escalators, and Moving
Sidewalks. Free. Registration not required.
###############
Murch Marrow Drive, December 12
Sue Bell, bellsue@aol.com
Far beyond an apple for the teacher, students and parents at Murch
Elementary School want to give the gift of life. Deborah Ziff-Cook, 35,
a much loved fifth-grade teacher at Murch, has aplastic anemia, which
only sometimes responds to drug treatment. Often a successful marrow
transplant, the only known cure for this rare but life-threatening
disease., is needed.
At the Murch Marrow Drive for Ziff-Cook on December 12 and 13, we
hope to add hundreds of new members to the National Marrow Donor
Program, a database of more than five million potential bone marrow
donors, aged 18 to 60. Expanding the database could help many victims of
rare blood disorders. Worth more than gold to sick patients and their
families, donors' marrow can be shipped anywhere in the world. The
drive, staffed by the Red Cross, is paid for by the NMDP and the Friends
of Allison foundation. It will take place at the school on Friday,
December 12, from 2:00 to 5:00 p.m., and Saturday, December 13, from
9:00 a.m. to 1:00 p.m. Murch is located at 36th and Davenport Streets
NW, between Connecticut Avenue and Reno Road. Childcare will be provided
for registrants.
For more information on marrow donation, see the NMDP web site at http://www.marrow.org.
For information on the Murch Marrow Drive, see http://www.friendsofallison.org
(click on “What’s New”), or contact Mandy Katz: 686-3920, or mmkatz@aya.yale.edu.
###############
CLASSIFIEDS — SERVICES
We will assist District of Columbia based businesses in becoming
certified to bid on District government contracts. Also preparing
business plans and M.B.E./W.B.E. certifications. Contact the AHJ Group
at 271-5522.
###############
CLASSIFIEDS — RECOMMENDATIONS
I would again like to recommend carpenter and handyman Marcotulio
Orellana and his company “The Home Doctor,” 301-942-7768, cell phone
240-793-0568. Marcos, who is licensed, bonded, and insured, finished our
restoration begun by a crooked contractor and half finished by his nice
subcontractors until they too walked off the job. Marcos has done many
small jobs for us since then. He comes with thirty years of local
recommendations; he gives fair, firm estimates free; his work is done
quickly and well.
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