Dear Washingtonians:
Robert Samuels wrote a Washington Post article that has been
much discussed on neighborhood listservs, “Millennials Consider Leaving
Washington as the City Becomes More Costly,”
http://www.tinyurl.com/kz39af7.
“Many are struggling to keep pace with the city’s rising cost of
housing. And as new millennials move into the District, older members of
that generation — loosely defined as ranging from 18 to 34 years old —
are heading out. The churn adds another layer to the District’s
affordable-housing debate as rents skyrocket and thousands of low-income
residents struggle to find places to live. Young transients are feeling
that squeeze in another way, residents and experts say, cramming into
apartments and forgoing cars to be able to make rent. But those
conditions can wear thin.”
As Donna Carter comments on the Ward 5 listserv: “As if we didn’t
already know this.” Our city planners and city leaders think the
solution to peoples’ dissatisfaction is to convince them to lower their
expectations and convince them they should be happy that they’ll never
be able to afford the lifestyles that their parents achieved, because
diminished horizons makes the earth greener. So you’ll never be able to
afford a big house like your parents? That’s good. Be happy with an
apartment, and if your apartment is small and cramped, that’s even
better, because making do with less makes sure you leave a smaller
footprint on the earth. Have fewer children, or none at all. Do without
a car, and go only to places you can reach easily on a bus. If those
conditions begin to wear thin on you, our politicians and planners won’t
do what they can to let you achieve the lifestyle you want; they will
scold you for your irresponsibility.
If older millennials are moving out of DC, they may not be searching
for better housing and better roads. They may really be searching for
better politicians and better planners, who believe their job is to
satisfy peoples’ needs rather than frustrate them.
Gary Imhoff
themail@dcwatch.com
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Rational Explanation
Paul Basken,
paul@basken.com
Clyde “let’s-run-over-the-bicyclists” Howard isn’t of course expected
to give a rational explanation for whatever thoughts cross his field of
vision, so seeing him offer the old “they must be smoking wacky
cigarettes” [themail, June 15] as the intellectual underpinning of his
latest anti-societal rant hardly seems surprising.
Folks could again offer him and Gary some facts about the damage
being done to people and the planet, and to our individual and
collective budgets, and to our long-term survival and health, and to our
military personnel, among many others, by our great over-reliance on
fossil fuel-based transportation. But having tried a few times in the
past, and gotten only admonitions from others that it’s a waste of time
to try to break through the echo-chamber of this “community” message
board that somehow only seems to have a handful of regular readers, it’s
probably not worth the energy. Just keep feeding your physical addition
to your motorized wheel chairs, Clyde and Gary, and the rest of the
world will smile and nod at you, while continuing to decide for
themselves what makes the most overall sense for their health and
well-being.
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I submitted “The Mayor’s Campaign to Attract 100,000 New Residents,”
to themail in 2003 (http://www.dcwatch.com/themail/2003/03-10-15.htm#layman2)
and it’s relevant as a response to your post in themail on June 15. If
you expect to add 170,000 more residents to the city who primarily rely
on the automobile for most of their mobility needs, then the city is
screwed.
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[Re: exchange between Dorothy Brizill and Kenyon McDuffie, themail,
June 15] I believe what Kenyan McDuffie had to say and he said very good
too bad you didn’t take it well as usual.
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InTowner June Issue Content Uploaded
P.L. Wolff,
intowner@intowner.com
The June issue content can be viewed at
http://www.intowner.com,
including the issue PDF in which will be found the primary news stories
and museum exhibition reviews — plus all photos and other images. Not
included in the PDF but linked directly from the home page is Stephen A.
Hansen’s “What Once Was” feature — this month about St. Thomas’ Parish
in Dupont Circle.
This month’s lead stories include the following: 1) “Adams Morgan
Moratorium Zone Extension Decision Expected to be Decided by ABC Board
Next Month, Strong Community Opposition Revealed at Hearing”; 2) “MLK
Library Reconstruction Planning Now Moving Forward, Funding Issues to
Delay”; 3) “Residents Concerned About the Fate of the Historic McMillan
Park Site Reveal Dubious Dealings Between the City and Developer.”
(NOTE: This third report is not included in the PDF but is posted on the
home page and linked directly from the Lead Stories listing at the top.)
Also to be found on the web site pages are the “Reservations
Recommended” and “Food in the ‘Hood” columns, along with the recent real
estate sales feature.
The title of our editorial, “Streetcars — Folly or Not?” speaks for
itself. Your thoughts will be most welcome and can be sent by clicking
the comment link at the bottom of the web page or by E-mail to
newsroom[at]intowner.com. The next issue PDF will publish early in the
morning of July 11 (the second Friday of the month as usual). For more
information, either send an E-mail to newsroom[at]intowner.com or call
234-1717.
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themail@dcwatch is an E-mail discussion forum that is published every
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