Posts
Good morning, Have a great weekend. For the newcomers: I only publish Monday – Friday, so Monday's edition will have news from Saturday, Sunday and Monday. Have a great weekend.
Best, Karyn-Siobhan Robinson a/k/a DC Government Clips
D.C. Government/D.C. Council media clips: Friday, November 19, 2010.
Missed yesterday? http://bit.ly/c8qdUo
Twitter: DCGovClips
The Politics Hour with Kojo Nnamdi - WAMU – 88.5
D.C. Mayor-elect Gray scrutinizing candidates for administration posts - Washington Post
Gray no longer accepting volunteers for transition – Examiner
Sources: Fenty might propose doubling residential parking fees - D.C. Wire (Washington Post blog)
D.C. board delays United Medical Center budget approval - Washington Business Journal
Wal-Mart News, Fast and Furious - Housing Complex (Washington City Paper)
Wal-Mart and the District's retail divide - DeBonis (Washington Post blog)
Wal-Mart is coming to D.C. Now what? - Washington Business Journal
D.C. reacts to Wal-Mart's arrival - Washington Business Journal
Committee of 100 to Gray: Sack Klein, Tregoning - Housing Complex (Washington City Paper)
Committee of 100 wants Klein, Tregoning ousted - D.C. Wire (Washington Post blog)
Maybe We Should Vote on Cabinet Members, Too - Housing Complex (Washington City Paper)
Bicycle, transit advocates fire back in support of Tregoning, Klein - D.C. Wire (Washington Post blog)
Former boxer Keely Thompson charged with fraudulently spending $500,000 in D.C. anti-gang funds - Washington Post
Kwame Brown hires former Gray campaign press secretary Hughes - D.C. Wire (Washington Post blog)
'House blessing' canceled after fraud conviction comes to light - D.C. Wire (Washington Post blog)
GDP grows in D.C., Virginia - Washington Business Journal
D.C. failed to monitor school spending of federal funds - Examiner
GAO: DCPS, OSSE lag in contract oversight - D.C. Schools Insider (Washington Post)
Henderson wants senior staff "Born to Run" - D.C. Schools Insider (Washington Post)
Democratic State Committee Cat Fight! - Loose Lips (Washington City Paper)
D.C. welcomes Wal-Mart, and Marion Barry wants to limit welfare payments - what's happening? - Washington Post
Our belts have been tightened for three years now - DC Fiscal Policy Institute
Social supports, not time limits, will reduce poverty - Greater Greater Washington
* * *
The Politics Hour with Kojo Nnamdi
WAMU – 88.5
Friday, Nov 19, 2010 at 12:06 P.M.
A sprawling corruption case consumes Prince George's County. District shoppers brace for the arrival of Wal-Mart. And the Pentagon takes a second look at plans to relocate thousands of jobs in Northern Virginia. Join us for our weekly review of the politics, policies, and personalities of the District of Columbia, Maryland and Virginia.
Guests
· Tom Sherwood: Resident Analyst; NBC 4 reporter; and Columnist for the Current Newspapers
· Jim Dinegar: President and CEO, Greater Washington Board of Trade
· David Robertson: Executive Director, Metropolitan Washington Council of Governments
· Wendy Weiner: Organizing Director, United Food and Commercial Workers Union Local 400
D.C. Mayor-elect Gray scrutinizing candidates for administration posts
By Nikita Stewart
Washington Post Staff Writer
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2010/11/18/AR2010111805756.html
Washington Post Staff Writer
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2010/11/18/AR2010111805756.html
Thursday, November 18, 2010; 7:24 PM
D.C. Mayor-elect Vincent C. Gray said his transition team is scrutinizing potential candidates for posts in his administration but emphasized that the process is preliminary and that he has made no decisions.
The team is conducting a review of would-be candidates for delinquent taxes and outstanding parking tickets, among other factors. The candidates include John W. Hill Jr., chief executive of the Federal City Council, and Allen Y. Lew, executive director of the city Office of Public Education Facilities Modernization.
Gray (D), who will be sworn in Jan. 2, said that he is unsure whether Hill or Lew would be interested in joining his administration and that he has had no conversations with them about posts. He said his discussions with Lew have been limited to the operations of the education facilities agency, which has been praised for its transformation of the city's school buildings.
"Everybody knows I like him," Gray said.
Hill and Lew did not return calls seeking comment about the process, which is under close wraps within the transition team. "They're putting names in there that haven't been suggested to me yet," Gray said of a preliminary list of names obtained by The Washington Post.
Two sources within the transition team, who spoke on the condition of anonymity because of the sensitive nature of the process, said that not all those under review might be presented to Gray as potential candidates. But the vetting would prepare Gray, who now serves as D.C. Council chairman, to start building his mayoral Cabinet, including senior staff and potential hires to head education and economic development.
It is unclear for which jobs the transition team would consider Hill and Lew, but two sources within the transition team said Hill could be tapped to be city administrator. Hill has been at the Federal City Council, a local nonprofit organization that recommends city policy, since 2004 and is the former director of the financial control board that oversaw the District's finances during a fiscal crisis in the late 1990s. Lew, along with several others, has been floated as a candidate to be the new deputy mayor for Planning and Economic Development.
Those under review are a mix of Gray's D.C. Council staff, directors in the administration of Mayor Adrian M. Fenty and agency heads in the administration of former mayor Anthony A. Williams.
Major players being examined in the preliminary review, according to the list, include Emily Durso, who recently announced that she would leave her job as president of the Hotel Association of Washington, D.C.; Michael Kelly, former director of the D.C. Housing Authority, who oversees public housing in New York City; Milton Bailey, president of the Louisiana Housing Finance Agency, who previously headed D.C. housing agencies; and Brenda Donald Walker, deputy mayor for Children, Youth, Families and Elders under Williams.
Also on the list are: William O. Howland Jr., director of the Department of Public Works; Linda Argo, director of the Department of Consumer and Regulatory Affairs; and Lucinda M. Babers, director of the Department of Motor Vehicles. All worked under Williams in some capacity and carried over into the Fenty administration.
In the area of education, the transition team is looking at Joshua Kern, executive director of the Thurgood Marshall Academy public charter high school and a Gray adviser during the campaign.
And from Gray's staff, the preliminary review includes: Brian K. Flowers, the council's general counsel; budget director Eric Goulet; Cynthia Brock-Smith, secretary of the council; Stephen Glaude, director of constitutent services; and Claudia McKoin, director of federal relations.
Gray no longer accepting volunteers for transition
By: Freeman Klopott
Examiner Staff Writer
http://www.washingtonexaminer.com/local/blogs/capital-land/gray-no-longer-accepting-volunteers-for-transition-109027569.html#ixzz15j8ZA8oU
Examiner Staff Writer
http://www.washingtonexaminer.com/local/blogs/capital-land/gray-no-longer-accepting-volunteers-for-transition-109027569.html#ixzz15j8ZA8oU
11/18/10 4:40 PM EST
D.C. mayor-elect Vince Gray has announced he’s no longer accepting volunteers for his transition team after receiving more than 1,200 requests from residents who wanted to lend a helping hand.
He’s also launched a new website that’s basically the same as the old one, but doesn’t have a page for interested volunteers to provide their contact information.
You can, however, still apply for a job in his administration.
Sources: Fenty might propose doubling residential parking fees
By Tim Craig
D.C. Wire (Washington Post blog)
November 18, 2010; 4:46 PM ET
Mayor Adrian M. Fenty (D) may propose doubling residential parking permit fees as he attempts to close a $185 million budget shortfall before he leaves office Jan. 2, according to administration officials.
Fenty is currently crafting his plan to close a shortfall in the current year's budget, which recently ballooned from $175 million to $185 million, so the council can review it before it adjourns in late December.
Although many expected Fenty's proposal would be released this week, administration officials now say they now do not expect it to be completed until early next week. The reason, officials say, is the mayor and City Administrator Neil Albert are still trying to finding a few extra million dollars in savings. They asked to remain anonymous because they are not authorized to discuss the issue publicly.
Fenty is currently crafting his plan to close a shortfall in the current year's budget, which recently ballooned from $175 million to $185 million, so the council can review it before it adjourns in late December.
Although many expected Fenty's proposal would be released this week, administration officials now say they now do not expect it to be completed until early next week. The reason, officials say, is the mayor and City Administrator Neil Albert are still trying to finding a few extra million dollars in savings. They asked to remain anonymous because they are not authorized to discuss the issue publicly.
The mayor plans to achieve most of the savings through spending reductions, officials say. But the administration is also eying some revenue increases, including an increase in residential parking fees.
Currently, District car owners pay $15 annually to receive a permit sticker allowing them to park in their neighborhood without having to adhere to time limits. In addition to raising an undisclosed amount of money, increasing the fee to $30 could further the Fenty administration' goal of encouraging more residents to embrace mass transit.
Last year, Fenty proposed raising the fee to $25, but the council did not include it in their final version of the budget, according to council staffers. Council member Jim Graham (D-Ward 1), chairman of the Committee on Public Works and Transportation, said he would be open to discussing a possible increase this year. But with Fenty's proposal still being refined, officials caution it's still not certain whether the final budget document will call for the increase.
Currently, District car owners pay $15 annually to receive a permit sticker allowing them to park in their neighborhood without having to adhere to time limits. In addition to raising an undisclosed amount of money, increasing the fee to $30 could further the Fenty administration' goal of encouraging more residents to embrace mass transit.
Last year, Fenty proposed raising the fee to $25, but the council did not include it in their final version of the budget, according to council staffers. Council member Jim Graham (D-Ward 1), chairman of the Committee on Public Works and Transportation, said he would be open to discussing a possible increase this year. But with Fenty's proposal still being refined, officials caution it's still not certain whether the final budget document will call for the increase.
D.C. board delays United Medical Center budget approval
Washington Business Journal - by Ben Fischer
Date: Thursday, November 18, 2010, 4:11pm EST
The District-appointed governing board for United Medical Center did not approve a 2011 operating budget as expected Thursday, after a board appointee of D.C. Chief Financial Officer Natwar Gandhi raised questions about part of the draft.
Hospital management had hoped to gain final approval of the budget, which has not been made public, at the monthly public board meeting regarding the future of the only hospital east of the Anacostia River.
But Deloras Shepherd, a board member and a senior aide to Gandhi, wanted a closer look at the budgeting for the skilled nursing facility recently reopened at the hospital.
“The hospital, they were in the business of running hospitals, and they acquired a (skilled nursing facility),” said Shepherd, associate CFO for the human services cluster. “We must work to be sure that the budget is a fair estimate of what the results would be.”
Instead, the board will pose questions to hospital Chief Financial Officer Derrick Hollings via e-mail, and hope to meet again by telephone to pass the budget “shortly after Thanksgiving,” said Attorney General Peter Nickles, who has taken on an unofficial but crucial role as an all-purpose adviser to the board.
Shepherd is one of just two of the eight voting members to be appointed by someone other than outgoing Mayor Adrian Fenty, along with the Service Employees International Union appointee, Katherine Taylor.
So far, Nickles’ office and hospital management have not responded to a Freedom of Information Act request seeking the draft budget. The nursing facility, a separately licensed unit within the hospital, is projected to lose about $900,000 next year, according to Hollings' verbal description of the budget to the board.
Wal-Mart News, Fast and Furious
Housing Complex (Washington City Paper)
It seems like the whole world has turned upside down in 24 hours, as Wal-Mart–which for years circled D.C., kicking the tires of various locations–announced four stores all at once and set up a web site offering helpful tips for how you can "lend your voice of support to the Wal-Mart community." And this isn't the end of it. While hammering out plans for its initial foursome, it's still actively pursuing others, and spokesmanSteve Restivo says it's too early to say what the company's upper limit might be.
A few months ago, I asked the question: Is it possible for Wal-Mart to fit into D.C.'s urban context? The signs, so far, are mixed. To correct something of a misperception, while Wal-Mart has been piloting its smaller "Marketplace" stores, that's not the thrust of its development in D.C. at the moment. Each of the planned stores is between 80,000 and 120,000 square feet, which is fairly typical for the company.
And how the stores ultimately look will, in large part, be up to the developers at each respective site. The one on New York Avenue and Bladensburg Road NE is being built by Rick Walker of WV Urban Development, who is also bringing Wal-Mart to Baltimore's 25th Street Station, which will include 70 units of housing. Foulger-Pratt, which had previously planned to build on the Curtis Chevrolet site on upper Georgia Avenue, will still be handling that project. TheBusiness Journal reports that the 801 New Jersey Avenue site is owned by the District but controlled by the Bennett Group, which will incur penalties if it doesn't have a development plan by January. The fourth site, at the Capitol Gateway project, already has quite a bit of housing. The developers will make decisions like whether to build acres of surface parking or spaces in garages or underground.
One relatively progressive element: None of the stores, Restivo says, will sell guns. (But will they sell porn?)
To bolster its case for entering the D.C. market, Wal-Mart commissioned a survey of 800 D.C. residents from Democratic pollster Ron Lester. Predictably, it shows strong support for the retailer, especially in wards 7 and 8, and especially among black residents (all of the questions are broken out along racial lines). Here's a chart of one question, asking people to rank their preference of stores:
It doesn't exactly conflict with the poll that Wal-Mart's greatest nemesis, the United Food and Commercial Workers Union, put out a few months ago. That one just emphasized that even people who're okay with Wal-Mart want to see it pay fair wages and hire local.
Wal-Mart and the District's retail divide
By Mike DeBonis
DeBonis (Washington Post blog)
November 18, 2010; 12:56 PM ET
As part of its preparation for building a store in Washington, Wal-Mart polled 800 D.C. residents on their shopping desires earlier this month.
Not surprisingly, given the poll's provenance, it showed high levels of support for Wal-Mart, with 73 percent of residents approving of the mega retailer's entree. In Wards 7 and 8, that proportion rises to more than 90 percent.
But the survey -- done by pollster Ron Lester, who has worked for Mayor-elect Vincent Gray and many others -- also revealed racial and geographic gaps in D.C. residents' shopping preferences.
Poll respondents were asked an open-ended question: "If you had a wish list and could choose any store, which store would you like to see locate in your neighborhood or nearby?" Here's how they responded:
While 30 percent of black residents named Wal-Mart, only 3 percent of white residents did. The white residents most often named Wegmans (13 percent), Trader Joe's (12 percent) or Whole Foods (10 percent). Of six non-Wal-Mart options offered by poll respondents and included in the Wal-Mart report, black residents the next-most support, 7 percent, to Giant.
Also of note: While black residents named Wal-Mart much more often than Target, 30 percent to 3 percent, white residents preferred Target, 8 percent to 3 percent.
Wal-Mart is coming to D.C. Now what?
Walmart. It's coming to the nation's capital. It's lined up four D.C. sites. Its prospective neighbors are already reacting. So now what?
We spoke with Wal-Mart Stores Inc. spokesman Steve Restivo to find out what happens next, between the retailer's announced arrival to D.C. and the completion of its initial stores, scheduled to occur sometime in 2012.
Construction and jobs: Wal-Mart has said the planned stores, each a part of mixed-use developments, will bring a total of 400 construction jobs and 1,200 permanent jobs to the region. According to Restivo, the retailer plans to set up hiring centers throughout D.C. to fill its positions. It has not yet selected construction firms for the position and will be working with developers to do so, likely from a pool of previous Wal-Mart construction contacts and bidding processes. "We want to pay special attention to giving opportunities to women-owned and minority-owned subcontractors," Restivo said.
Approval process: Three of the four Wal-Mart stores will not require zoning approvals, meaning no appearances before the Zoning Commission and no opportunity for an advisory neighborhood commission to fight the retailer. One store, in Capitol Heights, will be part of a planned-unit development that the Zoning Commission must OK. The retailer is not seeking city assistance for the stores it plans to build, Restivo said.
Future stores: Wal-Mart's presence in D.C. will likely reach beyond its initial four planned stores, as the company is looking to debut a smaller urban prototype store. Restivo would not specify the number of stores the retailer would build in the city. Even those smaller stores, however, will feature fresh grocery offerings, Restivo said. M. John Meyer of KLNB Retail is representing the retail giant in D.C.
D.C. reacts to Wal-Mart's arrival
Washington Business Journal - by Missy Frederick
Date: Thursday, November 18, 2010, 1:37pm EST - Last Modified: Thursday, November 18, 2010, 1:49pm EST
Things went from rumors to reality very quickly when Wal-Mart Stores Inc. announced its plans Wednesday night to open four stores in the District by 2012. The news of the retailer's rapidly expanding presence in the nation's capital has caused everyone from retailers to laborers to, naturally, the Twitter world to weigh in on the retail giant's arrival.
We'll continue to update this post with relevant reactions throughout the day, but we want to hear from you as well: What do you think about Wal-Mart's plans for D.C.?
Here's a snapshot below of the comments we've seen so far:
Wal-Mart itself: The retailer has gone on the public relations offensive, launching a website entirely devoted to its D.C. efforts. Here's the company's official announcement on the plans.
Additionally, spokesman Steve Restivo sent me a phone survey conducted of 800 D.C. residents to get their opinion on the retailer's imminent arrival. Those figures say that 73 percent of residents surveyed are in favor of the retailer arriving and opening one or more stores, many citing a lack of shopping opportunities in their neighborhoods.
Independent retail: Andy Shallal, founder of Busboys & Poets and chairman of Think Local First D.C., sent this statement about a local business' impact on D.C., versus that of national chains:
"We know through several studies that dollars spent in locally owned, independent businesses have three times the impact on a community than dollars spent at national chains. In other words, for every $100 spent at a local business, $45 is re-circulated in the community, vs. only $13 at a national big-box store, such as Walmart. Local businesses create more local jobs, fund more city services through sales taxes, invest in neighborhood improvement and promote community development.
Allowing Walmart to have such a huge footprint in D.C. is the equivalent of economic crack; a short-term feel-good solution that will inhibit competition, snuff out entrepreneurship and destroy the character of the community."
Local blogs: Various websites have begun to chime in on Wal-Mart's plans.
DCist asks whether Walmart stores could help eliminate what it calls "D.C.'s food deserts," where entire neighborhoods lack access to affordable food.
Labor: Wal-Mart has traditionally had an uneasy relationship with labor unions, though the company has pledged it will provide competitive wages to its workers. While Local 400, the United Food and Commercial Workers Union, has not yet returned our requests for comment, union leader Thomas McNutt told Mike Debonis he will pursue legislation to guarantee that Wal-Mart workers get wage and benefit packages comparable to those in union retailers.
Twitter: Reaction on Twitter has ran the gamut from optimism to anti-Walmart sentiments to, well, mockery. A smattering:
@jamie_bear — The people that those stores will serve and provide jobs for can't afford to have privileged guilt and self-righteousness. And rightfully so. It's the advantaged letting their "morals" hold down others who don't have the same privileges.
@AimeeCustis — boo Wal-Mart! But, on the other hand, at least they're coming to areas with limited retail options...
@scarmadella — anti
@thepbg — All these Walmarts better be 2 stories w/huge parking garages cuz otherwise...No.
@ElyssaK — As if it's not bad enough that 1 Walmart might be built in DC apparently they are getting greedy and want to build 4!
@JayRickey — Multiple Urban Wal-Marts May Have Less of an Impact on DC (Given its Transit System) than the One Wal-Mart Planned in Auto-Reliant Baltimore
Committee of 100 to Gray: Sack Klein, Tregoning
Posted by Lydia DePillis on Nov. 18, 2010 at 7:20 am
Housing Complex (Washington City Paper)
Well now, the Committee of 100 has gotten a bee in its bonnet: President George Clark blasted off aletter to incoming Mayor Vince Gray this week calling for the replacement of Department of Transportation director Gabe Klein and Office of Planning director Harriet Tregoning.
The letter cites a litany of complaints, most centering around what Clark sees as a disregard for community input (by which he means their input) and the aggressive pursuit of a smart growth vision (which the Committee of 100 doesn't share). He also accuses Klein's DDOT of neglecting basic services while pursuing shiny toys, and even of losing the city a federal grant for streetcars with his poor planning abilities. Overall, the letter makes clear that the Committee of 100 has felt very abused over the last several years.
"It is offensive to many neighborhood groups to be characterized as “NIMBYS” or “antis” when they want to protect a neighborhood’s character or challenge whether an initiative will actually achieve the desired result or ensure that District laws are faithfully implemented," Clark sniffs. "Openness and collaboration should be the touchstones of One City, and it seems to us counterproductive to endorse the continuation of leadership that disdains public participation and sends the message that the District needs to be more like other cities and less like the nation’s capital."
Read the whole damn thing after the jump.
November 15, 2010
The Honorable Vincent Gray
Mayor-elect of the District of Columbia
1350 Pennsylvania Avenue, Suite 504, N.W.
Washington, D.C. 20004
Dear Mayor-Elect Gray;
We look forward to working with your administration on realizing your campaign theme of One City. It is a goal that every District resident shares even though it has proven difficult to achieve. We renew our organization’s commitments to serve District neighborhoods and to decrease divisions and increase opportunities. With this in mind, we are writing to urge that you not reappoint Harriet Tregoning as Director of the Office of Planning (“OP”) and Gabe Klein as Director of the District Department of Transportation (“DDOT”).
During the past four years, Ms. Tregoning has pursued an agenda that she characterizes as smart growth, with the implication that the city is a victim of “dumb growth” and needs a radical makeover. We disagree with her definition. Smart urban growth is a targeted and disciplined approach that equates sustainability with preserving neighborhoods; and integrates environmental standards, community preservation, infrastructure improvements, economic opportunity, and public participation. We think the results demonstrate that Ms. Tregoning has a skewed view of smart urban growth and a top down approach to the future of our city. Under Ms. Tregoning’s leadership the Office of Planning has done the following:
· Initiated a transformation of all land use regulations and processes, which in implementation will result in fewer protections for residents and less engagement in regulatory proceedings;
· Disregarded many hard-fought-and-settled issues in the excellent Comprehensive Plan in favor of her own ideas of what all neighborhoods should look like;
· Laid the groundwork for confusion and future lawsuits by proposing fuzzy language that omits guidance on the height measuring point for development behind Union Station;
· Demonstrated questionable judgment in assuming the role of Mayor’s Agent in historic preservation cases, for which she has no legal training or experience, breaking thirty years of precedent during which an experienced, impartial administrative law judge had always presided over these adjudications;
· Avoided public scrutiny of OP actions as evidenced by the lack of even one city-wide meeting with the public or ANC commissioners on the proposed zoning changes;
· Downplayed or ignored critical comments at public hearings and displayed little or no empathy for the affect of her complicated zoning changes on residents, individual neighborhoods, or the pattern of living in the District.
There may be some residents who applaud the “I-know-best” approach exemplified by Harriet Tregoning, but we think that her style conveys the message that the public is not welcome to intrude on the advancement of an agenda. We are hopeful that as Mayor you will find the absolutist approach incompatible with bringing the city together. It is wrongheaded for city leaders to believe that progress cannot be achieved if citizens are involved. And it is offensive to many neighborhood groups to be characterized as “NIMBYS” or “antis” when they want to protect a neighborhood’s character or challenge whether an initiative will actually achieve the desired result or ensure that District laws are faithfully implemented.
Openness and collaboration should be the touchstones of One City, and it seems to us counterproductive to endorse the continuation of leadership that disdains public participation and sends the message that the District needs to be more like other cities and less like the nation’s capital.
We also urge you to appoint a more experienced Director of DDOT. While Mr. Klein has no shortage of ideas, his implementation of them has been uneven and may have cost the city potential federal funding for streetcars. Expanding the public transportation systems requires more than mapping routes. It demands thorough financial and governance planning, environmental and historic preservation review and compliance, planning for maintenance and other ancillary facilities, assessment of streetcar technologies worldwide and much more. Under his directorship, none of this has occurred except in a most superficial way. Mr. Klein has associated DDOT with the symbols of a “livability” agenda but hasn’t done the hard work of ensuring long-term sustainability.
Similarly, the DDOT initiative to create a network of bike lanes lacked depth of planning which has resulted in confusion for all roadway users and questionable safeguards for any of the users. It would have been helpful and prudent if DDOT had accompanied the promotion of bike usage with an aggressive campaign to demonstrate the safe and lawful role for each category of roadway users and an active enforcement of laws governing each of the users. The singular goal was to produce another symbol of the “livability” agenda and to declare victory despite the created tension among pedestrians, bikers, drivers, and public transit operators.
At the same time that Mr. Klein was focused on bikes and streetcars, daily transportation needs went unaddressed. It has been very difficult to persuade DDOT officials to respond to street, sidewalk, or other typical repairs; and it has been nearly impossible to convince DDOT to cooperate in advance on projected road work. We think the DDOT Director should have the capacity to lead a thorough evaluation of new or advanced transportation options, responsible introduction of new transit options, an efficient program to maintain roads and sidewalks, and engage the public in planning and implementing quality service delivery and responsive and safe transportation programs. We conclude that Mr. Klein has not demonstrated the ability to lead a well run and highly professional transportation department.
As the District faces unprecedented demands for public services, expectations that progress will not be stalled, and significantly reduced financial resources there will be a critical need for responsible and responsive leadership at all levels of government. The challenge to create One City when all residents will be asked to sacrifice is daunting. The task of reconciling a progressive agenda with the critical need to provide basic skills, safe environments, and opportunities to thrive for all residents is within reach if we have the will to do it. But it will make the journey easier if we have leaders that inspire engagement and collaboration and who have skills to creatively reconcile competing interests.
Ms. Tregoning and Mr. Klein are associated with a style and an agenda that doesn’t reflect what District residents want. It is difficult to conclude that they are the right people to focus on the parts of the city that rightly feel ignored or that they are capable of adapting their agenda to reflect a wider base of opinion and a profound interest in retaining our community values. We think that new leadership at the Office of Planning and the Department of Transportation has a better chance for achieving your goals, which we support.
Sincerely,
George R. Clark, Chair
About the Committee of 100: The Committee of 100 advocates responsible planning and land use in Washington, D.C. Our work is guided by the values inherited from the L'Enfant Plan and McMillan Commission, which give Washington its historic distinction and natural beauty, while responding to the special challenges of 21st century development. We pursue these goals through public education, research and civic action, and we celebrate the city's unique role as both the home of the District's citizens and the capital of our nation.
Committee of 100 wants Klein, Tregoning ousted
By Tim Craig
D.C. Wire (Washington Post blog)
November 18, 2010; 11:41 AM ET
The Committee of 100 on the Federal City, which advocates for historical preservation and conservative land-use policies, is urging Mayor-elect Vincent C. Gray (D) to replace key members of Mayor Adrian M. Fenty's administration who have oversight over District streets and neighborhood development.
In a letter sent to Gray this week, the chairman of the committee requested that he remove Gabe Klein, the transportation director, and Harriet Tregoning, the director of the Office of Planning.
The committee's stance puts it at odds with many in the city's new urbanist community, who are lobbying Gray to retain Klein and Tregoning. They argue that Klein and Tregoning have helped to enliven the city and push through projects such as bicycle lanes and the proposed streetcar line on H Street Northeast.
But George R. Clark, chairman of the Committee of 100, accused the pair of being too closely aligned with Fenty's "get it done" style of government, which he said has shut residents and advocates out of major decisions.
"We think the results demonstrate that Ms. Tregoning has a skewed view of smart urban growth and a top-down approach to the future of our city," Clark wrote.
Specifically, Clark said Tregoning has "disregarded" the city's comprehensive master plan, "demonstrated questionable judgment" in overseeing historical preservation cases, and "downplayed or ignored comments at public hearings and displayed little or no empathy for the affect of her complicated zoning changes on residents, individual neighborhoods or the pattern of living in the District." Clark also raised concerns about Tregoning's support for allowing some taller buildings near Union Station.
"There may be some residents who applaud the 'I-know-best' approach exemplified by Harriett Tregoning, but we think that her style conveys the message that the public is not welcome to intrude on the advancement of an agenda," Clark wrote. "We are hopeful that as a mayor you will find the absolutist approach incompatible with brining the city together."
Klein, Clark said, has been too aggressive in pushing the street car project without regard to "thorough financial and governance planning' and "environmental and historical preservation review." In recent months, Klein and the committee have clashed over whether the use of aerial wires for streetcars would violate 1889 federal law banning such wires in parts of the city.
The committee also took aim at Klein's push to build more bicycle lanes, saying they have "resulted in confusion for all roadway users."
"At the same time that Mr. Klein was focused on bikes and streetcars, daily transportation needs went unaddressed," Clark wrote.
After The Washington Post quoted Dave Alpert, founder of the Greater Greater Washington blog, two weeks ago saying the growing new urbanist community wanted Gray to retain Tregoning and Klein, their critics have been organizing to try to block their reappointments.
Last week, the Ward 3 Democratic Committee sent Gray a letter that also asked him to fire Klein and Tregoning, citing many of the same reasons outlined by Clark.
In an interview this morning, Klein said it's common for some interest groups to get upset over reforms.
"Everybody is entitled to their opinion, and I think anytime you push the envelope and try to align the various goals of the administration as we are, I think there is always going to be somebody that is less than happy," Klein said. "Change is sometimes hard and we understand that and we sympathize and we value the input."
Maybe We Should Vote on Cabinet Members, Too
Posted by Lydia DePillis on Nov. 18, 2010 at 4:15 pm
Housing Complex (Washington City Paper)
When the Committee of 100's "Fire Klein/Tregoning" letter dropped into my inbox this morning, I didn't spend too much time parsing its points, figuring that David Alpertwould get to it sooner or later. Sure enough, the rebuttal showed up earlier this afternoon, along with a petition you can sign in support of the pair, now at 267 signatures and counting. Which reminds me of something odd about the Committee's letter: Parts of it seemed aimed squarely at Klein/Tregoning's supporters, rather than DDOT and the Office of Planning's actions per se. If they meant to elicit a reaction, they've done so (hi Huffington Post!)
Meanwhile, George Clark wasn't the only one pushing for Klein/Tregoning's ouster. The Ward 3 Democrats, apparently without the explicit approval of its membership, also advised Gray to give them the boot. Their (much more concise) letter is after the jump.
At this point, we might as well hold a referendum on the matter.
UPDATE, 6:30 p.m. – This all reminds me of another thing Gabe Klein said at Monday's ThinkBike forum. "It’s important that we’re courageous, even put our jobs on the line, to make sure we’re making the right choices for the region and for our cities," he said. And later, a repeat: "It’s important that government show leadership, and be willing to take risks, push the envelope a little bit, and really give the people what they want when they want it."
So don't say Klein wasn't asking for it.
—-
From: Tom Smith
Subject: Ward 3 Dems: Reappointing Tregoning, Klein
Dear Mayor-Elect Gray,
The Executive Board of the Ward Three Democratic Committee approved the following statement concerning the possible reappointment of Harriet Tregoning as Director of the Office of Planning and Gabe Klein as Director of the District Department of Transportation. The Executive Board of the Committee recommends that both directors be replaced because their tenures at OP and DDOT do not reflect the values you outlined during the campaign.
—–
Tom Smith
Chair, Ward Three Democratic Committe
Statement of Exec Board of Ward 3 Dems
On The Reappointment Of OP and DDOT Directors The Executive Board of the Ward Three Democratic Committee wishes to express its concern about recent news reports indicating you are being encouraged or are considering reappointment of Harriet Tregoning as the Director of the Office of Planning (OP) and Gabe Klein as the Director of District Department of Transportation (DDOT). Your campaign was successful largely because of your commitment to engage the community in city policy making – a sharp contrast to the way OP and DDOT have operated over the last four years.
The tenure of Ms. Tregoning at OP has been marked by her failure to engage the community in the decision-making process. Since 2007, shortly after Ms. Tregoning assumed her position, OP began a complete rewrite of the zoning code. Despite many public and private requests that ANC commissioners be included as members of the Task Force that would advise OP – and despite Ms. Tregoning’s commitment to do so – only one Commissioner was appointed to the task force and this appointment was made by a Councilmember. There have been no briefings for ANC commissioners on the zoning changes recommended by OP despite the critical role that ANC’s play in the zoning process. In contrast, the 3-year process to rewrite the Comprehensive Plan included multiple meetings for ANC commissioners and numerous regional meetings for the public.
The record indicates that there is a disconnect between what Ms. Tregoning promises and what she delivers. She has demonstrated during her tenure that she does not seek substantive public participation and that she will ignore public comment, when it does not fit her pre-conceived, but not always well-informed views.
Currently, OP is urging the Council to undo pieces of the Comprehensive Plan in order to change the historic measurement for building heights and to introduce transit oriented development throughout the city without proper planning and without engaging the public in a more formal dialogue on the implications of the proposed changes.
We think Ms. Tregoning’s insular style of leadership would be in conflict with the principles that you espoused during the campaign and we urge you to replace her and certainly not to elevate her to a deputy mayor position as has been rumored.
Likewise, DDOT traffic management policies under the leadership of Gabe Klein have created more road congestion throughout the city.
New lane configurations, including the introduction of bike lanes, on downtown and neighborhood streets have contributed to the increasing congestion and have created more conflicts among drivers, pedestrians, and bicyclists leading to more safety risks. DDOT’s attempt to create a streetcar system in the District has been exposed as deficient in planning resulting in two rejections for federal funding and an increasing fear that taxpayers will be footing an open-ended bill for what is beginning to look like a folly.
In addition, normal DDOT services, such as street repairs became political tools during the mayoral campaign, especially in Ward 3 neighborhoods, as a way to curry favor for the incumbent mayor.
Furthermore, it has also been our experience that Mr. Klein is rarely accessible to meet with neighborhood residents.
Both Tregoning and Klein have allowed their ideological leanings on growth to shape decision-making without regard to the views of neighborhood activists – and too often without even seeking input or assessing the value of the input that is provided. Although there may be some who merit consideration for reappointment in a Gray administration, the Executive Board of the Ward Three Democratic Committee believes that OP and DDOT would benefit from a new approach and new leadership.
Bicycle, transit advocates fire back in support of Tregoning, Klein
By Tim Craig
D.C. Wire (Washington Post blog)
November 18, 2010; 4:07 PM ET
Advocates for bicyclists and more mass transit options are firing back at the Committee of 100 on the Federal City over its opposition to Gabe Klein, director of the D.C. Department of Transportation, and Harriet Tregoning, who heads up the planning office.
Earlier today, the committee released a letter its chairman, George R. Clark, sent to Mayor-elect Vincent C. Gray (D) requesting that he replace Klein and Tregoning when he takes office Jan. 2.
A short time later, the leaders of the Greater Greater Washington blogresponded with their own letter to Gray. It demands that he retain Klein and Tregoning, citing their support for streetcars and other alleged neighborhood improvements.
"Both Harriet Tregoning and Gabe Klein have made the District of Columbia a better place for all residents, rich and poor, black and white, old and young, parents, singles, empty nesters and more," the letter states. "We hope you will keep the District moving forward by keeping Mr. Klein at DDOT and by either retaining Ms. Tregoning as head of OP or promoting her to Deputy Mayor for Planning and Economic Development."
The letter, which had 226 online signatures as of 3:30 p.m. Thursday, was signed by the "Committee of Far More Than 100."
The dueling letters underscore the unusually high-profile campaign underway to try to influence the face of Gray's Cabinet.
The battle appears to pit some longtime, established community leaders against newer residents who are starting to organize into a more cohesive political force.
During the campaign for the Democratic nomination, Gray felt the online wrath of the new urbanist community when he briefly suggested that the city delay the proposed streetcar project on H Street in Northeast Washington. After his office was deluged with angry phone calls and e-mails - many generated from the Greater Greater Washington Web site - Gray restored the funding for the streetcars.
Many readers of Greater Greater Washington ultimately voted for Mayor Adrian M. Fenty (D). But Dave Alpert, the founder of the Web site, endorsed Gray a few days before the primary.
In deciding on Klein and Tregoning's future, Gray is now being wedged between two competing interest groups, representing an early test at achieving his "one city" vision
.
The Committee of 100 represents many of the civic, good-government and neighborhood activists that Gray successfully wooed during the campaign. His efforts helped Gray project a broad, racially diverse coalition of supporters.
.
The Committee of 100 represents many of the civic, good-government and neighborhood activists that Gray successfully wooed during the campaign. His efforts helped Gray project a broad, racially diverse coalition of supporters.
But Gray has also shown a continued willingness to win over skeptics who fear that he would reverse Fenty's push to build more bicycle lanes and mass-transit options.
The debate over Klein and Tregoning is also dividing members of the Ward 3 Democratic Committee. Earlier this week, the committee's executive board sent a letter to Gray asking him to replace Klein and Tregoning, suggesting that they have been dismissive of community input.
But several members of the committee were angered to learn of the letter, saying it's not reflective of the overall membership of the committee.
Former boxer Keely Thompson charged with fraudulently spending $500,000 in D.C. anti-gang funds
By Spencer S. Hsu
Washington Post Staff Writer
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2010/11/18/AR2010111806120.html
Washington Post Staff Writer
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2010/11/18/AR2010111806120.html
Friday, November 19, 2010; 12:49 AM
Agents with the FBI and D.C. inspector general's office arrested a former professional boxer Thursday in Prince George's County on charges that he stole more than $500,000 from his anti-gang youth boxing center in the District.
Keely E. Thompson, Jr., 45, was picked up shortly after 9 a.m. at his home in Accokeek and appeared before U.S. Magistrate Judge Alan Kay. He was charged with one count of wire fraud, U.S. Attorney for the District Ronald C. Machen Jr. said. A conviction on the charge carries a maximum penalty of five years in prison and a $250,000 fine.
Thompson was not required to enter a plea and was released until a Dec. 9 hearing.
A well-known D.C. boxer who fought professionally as a lightweight in the late 1980s and early 1990s, Thompson was executive director of Keely's District Boxing and Youth Center in Columbia Heights and Kenilworth.
The center, serving youths from ages 8 to 18, has received more than $1.4 million in District funds for at-risk children since 2004.
Prosecutors charged that between 2004 and 2010, Thompson used the boxing center's debit card to spend $150,000 on cruises and gambling in Atlantic City, losing more than $140,000 at Bally's casino alone.
In addition to drawing an average annual salary of $55,000 over six years, Thompson also cashed $355,210 in checks from the center with no legitimate business purpose, according to an affidavit signed by FBI Special Agent James M. Price.
"I used the money in the wrong way. I done it and I can't change it," Thompson told Price in August, the agent wrote in the affidavit.
Thompson, dressed in a black Sean John track suit, was represented by Assistant Federal Public Defender David Bos. He said little at the hearing, except that he had contacted former D.C. Democratic Party chairman and criminal defense lawyer A. Scott Bolden to help him find a lawyer whom Thompson could afford.
Kwame Brown hires former Gray campaign press secretary Hughes
By Tim Craig
D.C. Wire (Washington Post blog)
November 18, 2010; 5:09 PM ET
D.C. Council member Kwame Brown (D-At large) has hired Traci Hughes to oversee his communications strategy as he transitions into his new role as council chairman.
Hughes, who served as Mayor-elect Vincent C. Gray's (D) press secretary during the campaign, said she will help shape Brown's media outreach efforts and work on his Public Engagement Committee "to help structure communications for the office of the chairman."
Before joining the Gray campaign, Hughes was a spokeswoman for the Metropolitan Police Department. She started with Brown's transition team this week.
Brown announced two weeks ago that he plans to raise as much as $150,000 from private donors to pay for his transition.
'House blessing' canceled after fraud conviction comes to light
By Tim Craig
D.C. Wire (Washington Post blog)
November 18, 2010; 6:20 PM ET
The leaders of the Washington Interfaith Network have abruptly canceled a ceremony celebrating the D.C. Weatherization Initiative after it was discovered that a benefactor of the program had defrauded the federal government.
WIN had invited Mayor-elect Vincent C. Gray (D), D.C. Council members and various other community leaders to a "house blessing event" Thursday night in the 600 block of Princeton Place NW.
The house, which city records indicate is owned by Duke Amir, is one of the first in the city to benefit from a new city program in which taxpayers pay to weatherize a house.
But word began circulating this afternoon that Amir was sentenced to 20 months in prison in 2004 for preparing fraudulent income tax forms.
But word began circulating this afternoon that Amir was sentenced to 20 months in prison in 2004 for preparing fraudulent income tax forms.
Amir, who formerly owned the D.C. Tax Preparation Center, "engaged in a scheme to defraud the United States and the Internal Revenue Service by preparing and filing false federal income tax returns for clients in the metropolitan D.C. area" from 1998 through 2000, according to a statement released at the time by the Department of Justice. In all, Amir defrauded the government of $204,000, according to the Justice Department.
Amir was not available for comment Thursday.
Martin Trimble, a lead organizer for WIN, said he notified Gray and other city leaders late Thursday afternoon that the house blessing had been canceled. Instead, officials planned to gather at a nearby recreation center.
"We are embarrassed and we don't condone this activity and clearly we have to apply tighter screens about who are in the program," Trimble said.
The weatherization program, a priority of WIN's, is overseen by the Deputy Mayor's Office for Planning and Economic Development and the Department of the Environment, Trimble said.
Designed to create jobs and reduce energy consumption, the city pays to install new installation, windows, caulking and weather-proofing in the homes of qualified residents. In March, Mayor Adrian M. Fenty (D) and WIN officials announced plans to use the Sustainable Energy Trust Fund to pay to weatherize 2,000 to 4,000 homes.
A spokesman for Mayor Adrian M. Fenty (D) was not immediately available to comment.
In an interview, Amir said he understands WIN's decision to move the event from his house.
"I understand it and I have no problem with it," Amir said.
Amir said his criminal record never came up when he applied for the weatherization program. He said contractors put in new installation in his attic, caulked the windows and gave him a new water heater, free of charge.
"My house was selected out of 50 to be done, so they did it," Amir said. "The program took care of the costs."
This post has been updated since it was first published.
GDP grows in D.C., Virginia
Washington Business Journal - by Jeff Clabaugh
Date: Thursday, November 18, 2010, 12:19pm EST
The Washington region bucked the national trend in 2009, with local gross domestic product figures that were either unchanged from 2008 or higher than that year, according preliminary numbers from the Commerce Department’s Bureau of Economic Analysis.
U.S. Real State GDP declined by an average 2.1 percent and was down in 38 states and all eight regions, the report shows.
In Virginia, GDP totaled $370.2 billion, up 0.2 percent from 2008 and the 10th-largest gain in the nation. Maryland’s 2009 GDP was $259.3 million, unchanged from a year earlier.
The District’s 2009 GDP was 87.8 billion, up 0.8 percent.
Combined, the region’s 2009 GDP was more than $717 billion. If Virginia, Maryland and D.C. were a country, the area would be the world’s 16th largest economy, just behind the Netherlands and ahead of Turkey.
The largest decline in GDP occurred in Nevada, which fell 6.4 percent, led by drops in construction and real estate. Oklahoma had the biggest gain in 2009 GDP, up by 6.6 percent and led by a gain in mining.
D.C. failed to monitor school spending of federal funds
By: LISA GARTNER
Examiner Staff Writer
http://www.washingtonexaminer.com/local/D_C_-failed-to-monitor-school-spending-of-federal-funds-1613826-109080604.html#ixzz15iss2qmm
Examiner Staff Writer
http://www.washingtonexaminer.com/local/D_C_-failed-to-monitor-school-spending-of-federal-funds-1613826-109080604.html#ixzz15iss2qmm
November 18, 2010
A government probe revealed that the District's school system failed to consistently monitor and create records of its spending of federal money.
The Office of the State Superintendent of Education, or OSSE, told the U.S. Government Accountability Office that it had policies to monitor its grant recipients, but couldn't produce documentation of any, except in one case, and even the documented policies were not always followed.
Congress gave $85 million to the state education office to expand public charter schools between 2004 and 2009.
When the government looked through OSSE's 2008 and 2009 grant files, it found the papers "often lacked evidence that staff collected this information or performed other monitoring activities," the report by Congress' investigative arm says. "Most of the files did not include all the narrative and financial reports required by OSSE in many of their grant agreements." Few records showed any staff effort to obtain the necessary documents.
The federal government gave D.C. Public Schools $105 million over five years to improve public schools, but its spending records before 2009 were scarce: "DCPS could not locate information that may have been created on specific activities funded with federal payments during this time," the report says. Half of expenditures were set aside for a "literacy improvement program" -- but DCPS could not provide information on the program's objectives, activities or results.
The probe found that the public school system's policies for monitoring contractors does not specify how to do the monitoring, and thus was inconsistent at best. The government's review of 14 of the largest contracts awarded DCPS in 2008 and 2009 "found that several lacked any evidence of a performance evaluation by a program officer, or any subsequent review." The contracting office could not even locate three of the 17 files the government requested.
In response to a draft of the report, former Chancellor Michelle Rhee wrote in an October letter that the data before 2009 reflected a previous administration. "The current administration at DCPS has no knowledge of these plans and repeatedly reported this to the GAO," Rhee said.
Interim State Superintendent Beth Colleye wrote that OSSE "agrees that consistent written policies and procedures for monitoring all federal payment sub-grantees are necessary, and will further advance its mission."
Cornelia Ashby, director of education work force and income security for the GAO, said she was not shocked by the report's findings.
"They have long-standing problems," she said.
GAO: DCPS, OSSE lag in contract oversight
By Bill Turque
D.C. Schools Insider (Washington Post)
November 18, 2010; 10:09 PM ET |
The Government Accountability Office reported again Thursday pretty much what they've reported for years: that D.C. Public Schools and the Office of the State Superintendent of Education (OSSE) don't do a particularly good job of monitoring how federal money is spent.
Between 2004 and 2009, GAO said, the two agencies have received $190 million in federal payments (apart from Title I or IDEA funds) for a range of initiatives, including charter school facilities financing, teacher incentive pay and summer programs. But federal officials say that the District has had persistent problems demonstrating exactly how the money has been spent, especially prior to 2009. For example, between 2004 and 2007, DCPS received $37.4 million for "literacy improvement," but "was unable to provide information to describe the program's goals, objectives or outcomes."
District officials say in the official response pretty much what they've said for years: that they're doing better. But D.C. remains what's called in federalese "a high-risk grantee."
As with many GAO reports, it's a mix of serious stuff and what sounds like nitpicky, nickel-and-dime tail chasing. But it was enough for Rep. Darrell Issa (R-Calif.), ranking member and soon to be chairman of the House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform, to fire up another press release lamenting the loss of the voucher program.
"The D.C. Public School system continues business as usual and is plagued by a lack of accountability," Issa said. "With teachers unions having succeeded in cutting off Opportunity Scholarships, it's deeply troubling that poor D.C. school children have no alternatives for getting an education."
Henderson wants senior staff "Born to Run"
By Bill Turque
D.C. Schools Insider (Washington Post)
Posted at 4:18 PM ET, 11/18/2010
There was some grumbling Tuesday evening when interim Chancellor Kaya Henderson was a no-show at Walker-Jones Education Campus for her "office hours," where about a dozen folks had signed up to get five minutes with her. The absence had an added resonance because of all the chatter about DCPS stepping up its outreach in the Gray-Henderson era.
Spokeswoman Marrianne McMullen said Henderson had "a fairly late-in-the-game cancellation due to a family-related issue." Family and public engagement chief Peggy O'Brien and instructional superintendent Eric Redwine sat in for her.
While this was unforeseen, Henderson has passed the word that she wants her senior staff to play a more public role than they did under predecessor Michelle A. Rhee. She's calling it her "E Street Band" theory of public engagement: Bruce Springsteen is great, but wouldn't be nearly so without his band.
Or something like that.
Democratic State Committee Cat Fight!
Loose Lips (Washington City Paper)
In LL's column this week, he quotes an anonymous D.C. Democratic State Committee member as saying: "There a lot of people on the state committee who see it as: you have to pay your dues ... It’s very much a closed, inside network."
For proof backing up that statement, let's look at a digital catfight brewing online between two members of the committee. (Why this matters: the 81-member DCDSC will be picking the city's next councilmember at the beginning of next year.)
It begins with Paige Wedderburn, a Ward 2 committee member, sending the DCDSC's private listserv this e-mail: "Why is it that I hear the chair wants nothing but Ward 5 people as the heads of the DCDSC? And why urge us to vote for Vince Orange?"
To which ex-officio member Barrie Daneker, who LL is assuming is a Ward 5 resident since he just lost an ANC race there, responds: "For a member who on a rare occasions attends meetings (albeit in hip pajamas) and hardly does anything for the DCDSC, you sure have taken a big liberty! I'll be sure to reach out to you if I'm having a slumber party!"
Wedderburn, obviously no shrinking violet, tells Daneker to "back off." "And yes I attend meeting in my pajamas. What of it? IS THERE A DRESS CODE I'm NOT AWARE OF? ... I've aways [sic] been an advocate of the truth and am not about to cover it up. That is just not fair and not what a representative of DC should be doing. ... And I'll be sure to reach out to you to remind you when you're voted the village idiot."
Yikes! Nobody said democracy was pretty, people.
D.C. welcomes Wal-Mart, and Marion Barry wants to limit welfare payments - what's happening?
By Petula Dvorak
Washington Post Staff Writer
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2010/11/18/AR2010111806021.html
Washington Post Staff Writer
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2010/11/18/AR2010111806021.html
Thursday, November 18, 2010; 11:20 PM
The economy must remain in a deep freeze if the announcement of Wal-Mart coming to town gets cheers in D.C. and Marion Barry starts dissing his most impoverished constituents.
In the same week!
Don't forget, it was only recently that the city was clamoring for more Whole Foods outlets (with custom gelateria this time, por favor, and make sure that roof is green) and Barry (D-Ward 8) was handing out city contracts to his girlfriend like they were bonbons and flowers.
But in these more sober times, the announcement that Wal-Mart is planning to build four stores and employ at least 1,200 people is met as a triumph.
For city residents, it means access to lower prices, shopping convenience in neighborhoods where there are few big-box stores and loads of tax dollars that have been going to the suburbs.
If Maryland can make a Faustian deal to sprout its own slots dragnet to keep its citizens from funding Delaware's gambling industry, why shouldn't the District be able to accept smiley-faced deals and near rock-bottom wages to snare some tax dollars?
Wal-Mart has often faced opposition because it has hastened the demise of mom-and-pop shops (though I think Fat Face Bar-B-Que will hold up fine on their East Capitol Street location, and there's little else close to Wal-Mart's proposed sites). And labor leaders have long complained about Wal-Mart's wages and benefits.
But Gregory Brown, 40, didn't care about any of that.
"Jobs!" he exclaimed as he paused by the Big Chair, a landmark in Anacostia. "They're going to hire a lot of people. That could help a lot of folks."
That brings us back to the dire situation in Ward 8, where there are no plans for a Wal-Mart.
"Who can afford to shop there?" a 53-year-old housekeeper snapped at me when I asked her if she was happy the megastore is coming to D.C.
With unemployment at almost 30 percent in this part of the city, the 400 construction jobs and 1,200 retail positions promised by Wal-Mart can save a lot of families.
"People want to work. They don't want to live off the government. Jobs - we need jobs," said one man who was collecting unemployment but didn't want his name in the paper.
Well, not always, said Barry, who is known for speaking for the most impoverished, disadvantaged people in the nation's capital.
In a move that critics called "puzzling" and "baffling" and had a serious Freaky Friday flavor, Barry came out with a bill to limit the Temporary Assistance for Needy Families program to five years.
That's the national standard, as enacted by the Welfare Reform Act of 1996. But the District has long taken the option of offering unlimited assistance and paying for it with city tax dollars. That's cost the District about $35 million annually.
Co-sponsored by council member Yvette Alexander (D-Ward 7), the bill would cut off both cash payments (which come to $370 a month on average) and other assistance such as child care subsidies and job training.
And, to my great surprise, that was fine with lots of the people I talked with in Ward 8.
"They are the ones who keep taking the money. They stay on it for years and years and years and years and years," said Gregory Brown's wife, Jemelle, 44, as we talked about welfare. "That's the problem. The ones who never get off public assistance."
Jemelle Brown told me she was on welfare for a short time, in between jobs and while raising kids. The financial help was her bridge.
But what she fears are the people who see it as a lifestyle. Continuous welfare isn't helping people fix their lives.
So, it isn't the money that's going to these families - 17,000 in the District who have stayed on public assistance for more than five years - that seems to anger the residents of Ward 8. They think the help should be more effective and more than cash.
Most of the people who have been on welfare for years have problems far bigger than a check can solve. You're looking at a lot of cases of substance abuse, or mental and emotional issues. Many welfare recipients have dropped out of high school. Others have literally never had a paying job. Those are problems that $370 a month are not going to solve.
One District job training program is nothing more than tossing a phone book at a welfare recipient and telling her to make some calls, the researchers at the policy institute found.
And even if you defy the odds and land a job, holding onto it can be difficult.
"It's not that they get a job and all of a sudden, everything is fine," said Jenny Reed, a research associate at the institute. "You get a job and you have all these new expenses. Transportation, child care, clothing."
Even the rollback deals at Wal-Mart won't make that easy.
Our belts have been tightened for three years now
DC Fiscal Policy Institute
November 18th, 2010 | by Jenny Reed & Elissa Silverman
This year’s District budget is $600 million less than three years ago, adjusting for inflation.
True or false?
True.
This year’s human services budget is 10 percent less than three years ago, and of the largest areas of our budget, it has been cut the most.
True or false?
True again.
These statements offer are important to keep in mind as our leaders wrestle with how to close a $175 million shortfall for the current fiscal year. The mayor’s plan for closing the gap is expected any day now, and a first vote by the DC Council could come as early as December 7.
Those who say budget cutting is the only way to solve our fiscal crisis imply that the District government is simply spending too much. Yet the fact is that DC—like nearly every other city and state—is in a budget crisis because it has collected less revenue than expected due to the recession (more on that tomorrow). The right response is to make sensible revenue additions as well as sensible cuts.
In fact, spending cuts already have been a large part of the effort to close DC’s budget shortfalls. The FY 2011 budget passed this past spring is $600 million lower than the budget for FY 2008, after adjusting for inflation.
Since the beginning of the recession, DC’s budget for human services has fallen despite the fact that more and more residents are unemployed and can’t provide for themselves and their families as they wish they could. In fact, in three years human services has seen a 10 percent cut, far larger than public safety which has seen a six percent cut and education which has seen no net decrease.
But the needs of many DC residents haven’t fallen amidst one of the worst recessions on record. Unemployment jumped to record levels, and remains far higher than pre-recession levels at 9.8 percent. The number of people receiving food stamps has increased by nearly 37 percent rising to over 124,000 people in July 2010. The number of people enrolled in Medicaid and DC’s Health Care Alliance programs were just over 188,000 in March of 2008. When the FY 2011 budget was passed, it was estimated that over 237,000 people would be enrolled by the end of FY 2011, an estimated 23 percent increase in just two and half years.
Tough choices have to be made in the upcoming months. DCFPI has argued for a balanced approach to closing the budget gap that involves a mix of spending cuts and revenue increases. However, the brunt of the cuts have been placed on human services, the one area many residents are forced to turn to when times get tough. Times are still tough; we can’t continue to place the greatest burden on those who are already hurting the most.
Social supports, not time limits, will reduce poverty
Greater Greater Washington
Marion Barry is right: generational poverty endangers communities and families. However, enforcing a time limit for welfare benefits is not the way to build strong communities or support families.
Councilmembers Marion Barry (Ward 8) and Yvette Alexander (Ward 7) recently introduced a bill to limit Temporary Assistance to Needy Families (also known as TANF and hereafter referred to as welfare) recipients to 60 months of welfare benefits.
After those 60 months are up, families would also be ineligible for other public benefits such as Medicaid, child care subsides, or food stamps.
It's a lot easier to blame the victim than to take the time and resources to fix the problem. Mr. Barry told the Washington Times that one of his a neighbors gets "$400 or $500 worth of food stamps but won't get up in the morning and fix breakfast" for her children.
Yes, there are differences in parenting styles by social class, but to assume that low-income parents are less caring, concerned, or invested, or unskilled caregivers is not true and unfair. If anything truly puts families and children at a disadvantage, it is growing up in poor neighborhoods without access to jobs, good schools, or child care providers.
Barry and Alexander's proposed legislation also fails to understand the dynamics of welfare usage. Most families do not intend to use welfare as their only source of income, but rely on welfare to make ends meet. Instead, most families that enter welfare exit relatively quickly to take low-paying jobs. Families able to maintain full-time, year-round work are much better off than before.
Others, however, end up returning to welfare. Not surprisingly, the most vulnerable are single mothers with little work experience or education. The wealth of research done since the 1996 welfare reform act indicate that there are numerous barriers that may affect a recipient's ability to transition from welfare to work, including physical disabilities or health limitations, availability of child care, mental health problems, health of behavioral problems of children, substance abuse, domestic violence, involvement with the child welfare system, housing instability, low basic skills, and learning disabilities.
Similar to the nation, welfare and food stamp usage in the District has fluctuated over the last ten years. The number of individuals on welfare was 46,576 in 2000, fell to a low of 42,300 in 2008, and rose to 45,136 in 2009. Since 2000, food stamp usage has increased by more than 20,000 individuals, from 80,510 in 2000 to 107,618 in 2009. It is clear that welfare and food stamp usage have gone up recently because of the recession, not an increase in long-term users trying to abuse the system.
Without supports, the families that Barry aims to help won't be able to overcome a multitude of barriers. Just like how education loans/grants, mortgage tax credits, etc., help middle class families achieve a higher standard of living, social support programs like welfare, food stamps, and child care subsidies present a potential solution for low-income families.
Instead of placing limits on welfare, the DC council should support the TANF Opportunities and Accountability Act of 2010 sponsored by Tommy Wells (Ward 6) and Michael Brown (at-large). The bill would invest in job training and educational programs as well as develop a better system to track welfare recipients in order to better understand when and why families enter and exit social programs.
The welfare system is far from perfect, but as the District faces continued economic turmoil brought on by the recession, this is not the time to limit access to important social safety nets. District food banks, shelters, and other social services are already strainedand woefully unprepared to face coming economic hardships as the economy tries to build itself back up. Families that have not been able to leave welfare are some of the most disadvantaged families without any means of support other than social programs.
If Barry and Alexander are serious about reducing poverty and thus reducing welfare usage, they must propose more innovative policies with a multi-pronged approach that involves families, neighborhoods, educators, and employers.
From Thursday:
Mike DeBonis: http://wapo.st/d7iu4Z
Loose Lips (daily column): http://bit.ly/d6tSKz
DMV Daily (P.J. Orvetti): http://bit.ly/aC2d4y
No comments:
Post a Comment