DC Metro Action is a listing of local actions, entertainment, volunteer opportunities and the occasional rant on a wide range of socially just issues.
contact me at dcmetroaction@comcast.net
Action of the Day Many of these action alerts are found on the listservs and websites of organizations listed in our "Act Locally" section (Left).
Tuesday, December 31, 2002
Tension Is 'Mounting' at DC Jail Following two fatal stabbings, inmates at a jail in Southeast have been on lockdown for more than two weeks, but families and advocates are concerned that it's making a bad situation even worse.
Free Parking...Sort Of Starting Monday, Jan. 6, DC drivers can ignore signs that restrict parking for a weekly street cleaning. But you still have to feed the meter. The fun continues through March 17. Read the whole story at the District Chronicles.
It's His Party, But Not His Bill Mayor Williams will be sworn in to his second term on Thursday, Jan. 2. Someone has to foot the bill for his inaugural celebration, but it's not the taxpayer.
Wondering whom the Mayor has to thank for his party? Here's a list of individual and corporate contributions to the Mayor's festivities, including $25,000 from Comcast, which holds the city's cable franchise, and $15,000 kicked in by the company that provides the District's red-light speeding cameras. If you want to rub elbows with the District's power brokers, here's a list of the events open to the public. And take note of these street closures.
No Happy New Year if you Plan to buy Cigarettes, Alcohol or Property in the District Cigarette taxes will rise 35 cents to $1 a pack, and the recording of property deeds will rise from 1.1 percent of the purchase value to 1.5 percent. That could cost some homebuyers thousands of dollars. Also, wholesale liquor taxes will rise from 8 percent to 9 percent, and public utility taxes for gas and electricity will climb from 10 percent to 11 percent. New Year Rings In At Cash Register
Haute Couture? We posted this first story on December 24th:
Teacher's Union Biggie Bought $57,000 Tiffany Tea Set The Washington Teachers Union scandal is heating up - read all about the tea set and a $13,000 plasma television allegedly purchased with union funds in this story from WJLA.
At Least it's Better than Ten Years Ago? Mirroring a national trend -- after years of decline -- the murder rate in DC rose 12% last year. D.C. Police Chief Charles Ramsey blames greater use of the volatile drug PCP, a low homicide closure rate, an unusually hot summer, and a plentiful supply of handguns. DC and Prince George's Post Biggest Increases.
Baseball in DC, Part 1 Look, it's not real likely -- we've been teased before -- but if the baseball spirits should shine upon us, we'd better move slowly because a major-league ballpark in this small town is going to have an impact, good and bad, on lots of people's lives. "Stadium could displace O St. gay clubs", from the Washington Blade.
Part 2: Northern Charm and Southern Efficiency Major League Baseball has changed significantly since the Washington Senators left the District of Columbia in 1971. Since that time, Washington has changed dramatically as well. Once known as a sleepy government town and described jokingly as operating with "Northern charm and Southern efficiency," Washington at the turn of the 21 St Century has become a ,vibrant and diversified city and the hub of industries of the future. From the Major League Baseball Park Site Evaluation Project Report, read it all here.
Even the Dead Have to Commute Living in Fairfax? Better plan on dying somewhere else. Sure, I could understand residents of the Virginia county fighting Wal-Mart, but funeral homes? And meticulously planned community Reston doesn't have any cemeteries. Some county leaders are "stunned by their scarcity."
Third Worst Congestion in the Nation The AAA - Mid-Atlantic is out with its annual list of cheers and jeers for the Washington area. And the problem of traffic congestion tops both sides. Read about the best and worst, from WTOP.
With a Rebel Yell Before Republican Trent Lott, before Dixiecrat Strom Thurmond, there was Democrat Woodrow Wilson, the so-called progressive who brought Jim Crow to Washington when he moved into the White House. Reason Online offers a lesson in DC history, here.
Metro: Higher Fares, Less Service I usually would not mind a fare increase once in 8 years, but to get one coupled with a service reduction does not seem right. But alas, this is Washington's Metro - where the increase will only cover half of the existing service needs, and none of the needed improvements - like adequate maintenence on the escalators. from ABC7: Metro Chief Warns of Higher Fares, Service Cuts
Santa Water-Skis Across Potomac I have been here most of the last 30 years, and have never heard of a water-ski'ing santa - but if NBC4 says it's been going on for 17 years, who am I to argue? In case you haven't heard of it either, I bring to you a show that grows every year.
Red Light Running Is Fairfax the first community ever to lose money from their red-light cameras? Yes, to the tune of $300,000 - find out how their budget fared with no ticket windfall, from The Washington Times
One Size May Not Fit All EZ-Pass works on every road from DC to NY - Washington's Metro should follow their lead, but the "Board Postpones Vote on New Fare Card", in this story from WTOP.
Snow Way It doesn't snow often here in Washington, but it doen't take much to bring this town to a standstill. Is the Federal Government open or closed? find out here.
Killing Time Loews Cineplex has opened a 14-plex in Georgetown - with all stadium seating, state-of-the-art sound and a restored 175-foot smokestack as the dramatic lobby backdrop.
Telling Time The Naval Observatory, out Mass. Avenue, NW, along with providing the Vice President's their residence - also has the master clock for the United States.
Saving Time Pay those DC parking tickets online, at the DC DMV's website
Art for Social Change A Washington, DC-based nonprofit arts organization, Sol & Soul brings together professional artists from all disciplines with activists, community organizations, schools, and individuals from varying ages and backgrounds to produce creative works with a social conscience. Check them out, they're electric.
Sen. Gramm Disses D.C., From The Hill Sen. Phil Gramm’s final act in the Senate was to deny the nation’s capital its own 25-cent piece. Every state is slated to have its own memorial quarter by 2009, which is when the District was slated to have one. But now, the city will have to endure more legislative maneuvering. While the House voted to grant D.C. its own quarter, the effort stalled in the Senate because the motion did not get the required 67 signatures. Del. Eleanor Holmes Norton, the district’s non-voting Democratic House member, and D.C. advocates, like WAMU-FM's political analyst Mark Plotkin, are up in arms. Plotkin’s “You Take the Cake Award,” given in conjunction with The Georgetowner newspaper, was awarded to Gramm.
Friends Telling Friends Pass the word, www.dcinsideout.com is live and on the air. Tell your friends, co-workers, families and neighbors. We need help to turn DC inside out, send us content - reports of wheeling, dealing, fun and frolic are always appreciated - see the left-hand side-bar for the email address.
Bargain Meals Washington's restaurant week is soon upon us, providing big bargains at some of DC's best restaurants - with 3 course lunches going for $20.03 and 2 course dinners at $30.03. It's January 13-19, and you can learn more about it here.
Trent Republicans throwing Republicans anchors? Read all about it in "Bush's refusal to defend Lott helped seal his fate", from the Knight Ridder Newspapers. And if the President's help wasn't enoguh, read all about how "Southern Senators Rose Against Lott", in the Washington Post. And finally, Trent says he "has only himself to blame" in this Washington Post story: Doh!
Chow'ish This is a town where culinary quality is often questioned. DC seems awash with the broadest selection of international cusine this side of the Hudson River, yet there is a slew of lesser quality and overpriced gin joints, cafes, formal dining rooms and neighborhood haunts. See DC's dining through the eyes of it's most acute critics: The DC Chowhounds.
DC Metro Action is published by Michael Schlesinger, a 32-year veteran of electoral and issue organizing who is committed to social justice and to increasing participation in the political process.
All original content (C) 2003, 2004, 2005, 2006 Michael Schlesinger