The Marion Barry: A Shot In Honor Of The Former Mayor-For-Life

It’s been a big news day for the former mayor-for-life.  The investigations into his use of earmarks have finally boiled over with the release of the Bennett Report.  The upshot?  His goose is cooked.

This seems an opportune time to introduce to a broader audience the shot we invented on this year’s Marion Barry Day.  I give to you: The Marion Barry.

1. One part Stoli Blackberry
2. One part Southern Comfort
3. One part Blue Curacao
4. One part grenadine
5. Drink up, slam the glass, and holler in your best just-got-caught-with-crack-in-a-hotel-room voice, “Bitch set me up!”

The concoction is sweet and quite drinkable, and is rife with symbolism.  The Stoli Blackberry is because the marionberry is a subspecies of blackberry.  The Southern Comfort makes it in because the former mayor-for-life was born in Mississippi.  And the Blue Curacao and grenadine are there for flavor, and because together the purple hue they create reminds us of the purple velour jogging suit the elder councilmember has been known to sport from time-to-time.

Originally called “The Bitch Set Me Up”, we re-named it to be a bit more obviously associated with the man.

Vacant and Blighted Property Testimony

Councilmember Bowser and Councilmember Evans held a joint hearing  yesterday on B18-546 and B18-448.  Both bills are an attempt to better define who gets hit with the city’s super-tax on problem buildings, which was essentially eliminated right as it started to produce results. I testified yesterday on four key points that I believe need to be addressed in the bills.

• Keep the vacant property registration system.
• Include ANCs in the exemption process.
• The proposed “blighted” classification is too subjective. An objective system, such as DMV-style points, should be considered.
• Vacant (but not “blighted”) properties are still a problem. Multi-year vacancies must also be taxed at a higher rate to promote their productive use.

My full testimony can be downloaded here.  You can watch the full meeting online here.  (My testimony begins at about 3:35:00, and then there is some Q&A at the end of the panel.)

West Nile Virus in Logan Circle

If you thought moving to Logan Circle meant trading mosquitoes and West Nile virus for prostitutes and robberies, think again!  I received an email from Lakisha Thompson from the DC Department of Health warning us that a pool of water on the 1200 block of N Street NW had tested positive for the virus.

According to Ms. Thompson, mosquitoes have a very limited range (only a maximum of 150 feet) from their home pool, so please take the time to dump out any containers with standing water that might be on your property.  It can make the difference!

For more information, check out these fliers from DOH (all PDFs): Mosquitoes Carry Disease, West Nile Virus, Virus del Oeste Nilo

DC Council Cutting Vacant Property Tax Just As It Starts Working

Hot on the heels of my ebullient post that the vacant property tax was starting to bear fruit comes the news that the Council is going to cut the tax.  And it’s going to cost the city $10.8 million (although not until 2011) at a time when we’re facing a massive deficit.

And why?  Councilmember Mendelson is quoted as stating that the higher tax rate makes it, “difficult for some property owners to sell or put their property back to use.”  This is bogus reasoning fails to consider that properties that are either for sale or have current building permits for in-progress construction are automatically exempted from the higher rate.

Furthermore, at the last ANC 2F meeting Councilmember Evans attended, he stated unequivocally that the issue of cutting the vacant property tax was going to be dropped, and instead the Council would be seeking ways to better differentiate between properties that were problems and those that were not (ANC 2F May 2009 meeting minutes, page 3). Clearly, something flip-flopped Councilmember Evans’ opinion in the last three months, since it seems he now supports a continued free-ride for the longest-standing blights in our neighborhood.

So, to summarize, we’re cutting a tax that is not only just starting to serve its purpose, but that is also raising money for the city when it needs it most.  This move is both counterproductive and foolish.

Vacant Property Tax Working Exactly As Intended

Vacant properties are a huge problem in the District, especially in the inner core neighborhoods like Logan Circle and Shaw.  In addition to being both unsightly and a poor use of land, these properties often become nuisances, attracting crime, graffiti, drug dealing, and homeless men and women who shelter in them despite their often unsafe structures.  One might hope that market incentive and the rising real estate prices in these resurging areas would drive owners of vacant land to either sell or develop the property they own, but – alas! – Mr. Smith’s invisible hand sometimes fails to act.

Of particular note is the large number of vacant properties in Logan and Shaw owned by various churches.  In the wake of the riots, the churches purchased many such buildings with good intentions, such as creating shelters, offering low-cost housing to needy residents, or simply to make them unavailable to local thugs.  As any preacher worth his salt can tell you, though, those good intentions pave a particular road.

Recently, the District dramatically raised the property tax rates on vacant properties from 88¢ per square foot to $5 per square foot.  Pure and simple, it is an effort to force the hand of careless landowners who fail to develop their properties, and whose properties consumes an inordinate quantity of city services because of the vacancies.  And it seems to be working!

At least month’s ANC 2F meeting, Vermont Avenue Baptist Church was on hand to make a request for an exemption from the vacant property tax rate.  They are trying to secure funding for development of one of their long-vacant properties, and (given the economic climate) were having trouble doing so.  The ANC agreed to recommend an extension.  I made sure to let them know that we would be watching their progress closely, however, especially given the history of neglect and carelessness they had already exhibited.  There are rumblings of another church that will be on the agenda in September for a similar request.  And now DCist is reporting that Shiloh Baptist voted to sell some of their long-vacant holdings on 8th Street!

It’s important to note that this tax rate is not without controversy.  There were some reports of unfortunate situations where homes were incorrectly classified as vacant, as well as some cases where vacant lots used as community gardens or dog parks are getting taxed at the new rate.  Clearly, the law needs to modified to handle those situations appropriately.  But as to the core issue the tax hike was meant to address?

Seems like it’s working out pretty good to me.

Naturopathic Medicine in the District of Columbia

I doubt many of you have heard of B18-0060, the Practices of Medicine and Naturopathic Medicine Amendment Act of 2009.  I hadn’t either, until it was brought to my attention today in my capacity as an Advisory Neighborhood Commissioner.  This bill, which was passed by the DC Council on April 7th, signed by the Mayor on April 28th, and passed the colonial review of Congress on July 6th, essentially re-defines medicine in the District of Columbia to exclude the practices of Naturopathic medicine.  I have been invited to a reception to discuss urging the Council to reconsider “whether there are alternatives to eliminating this source of health care from our city.”

I was immediately suspicious of a so-called medical term with the prefix naturo- and the suffix -pathic, but I had never heard the term naturopathic before.  I looked it up on Wikipedia, and it turned out my suspicions were right.  Naturopathic medicine is a bag of tricks that includes all the biggest names in woo medicine, including acupuncture, homeopathy, hair analysis, and reflexology.

To which I say: Nice job DC Council! Thank you for stripping these quacks of governmental imprimatur and the trappings of authenticity.  Citizens who have been fooled into believing these treatments are effective will hopefully think twice about putting their hands into such unscientific techniques, and instead seek treatment from licensed practitioners working with hard evidence.

Desi Deschaine – You Will Be Missed

I write with a heavy heart that our good friend Desi Deschaine has passed away. As a staffer for Mayor Williams, and later Councilmember Jack Evans, Desi tirelessly worked for the betterment of the District of Columbia and Ward 2; and as the Vice-President of the Logan Circle Community Association, he continuously worked to improve our neighborhood.

His boundless energy, enthusiasm, laughter, and love for life will be missed by everyone who knew him, and thousands more who didn’t.  His positive impact on our lives cannot be overstated.

Update: Story in the Post

Blame for the Metro Crash

The Metrorail system is deeply inculcated into the fabric of transportation in the DC Metro Area.  Everyone uses it, at least once or twice.  It is a testament to the fantastic success a rapid transit rail system can be, especially one spanning several different conflicting jurisdictions and built during an era when the construction of public transportation usually gave way to highways, interchanges, and parking lots.  The tight integration into our everyday lives is what makes Monday’s crash so disturbing for so many.

And now the blame starts circulating.  The results of the National Transportation Safety Board investigation will not likely be known for more than a year, but the root cause of the problem is obvious to anyone with a sense of the Metrorail’s history: The system has been underfunded for decades, robbing funds from necessary capital improvement and deferring maintenance in order to simply keep operating.  Just this past march, we played the same game again.

The local jurisdictions have been wringing their hands over dedicated funding.  Metro must beg, borrow, and steal to keep the trains running, and this accident is the direct result.  Mayor Fenty recognizes this fact, and took some of the blame on Good Morning America today.

The Federal government has also recognized both the lack of funding and that a significant portion of the Federal Government takes the Metro to work.  It has offered up $150 million per year to Metro if DC, Maryland, and Virginia all agreed to pony up $50 million each.  The offer has been on the table for years, and each jurisdiction has had its hand in stalling.  Virginia was the lone hold-out for a couple of years, but DC is currently to blame for the current delay.

As shameful as the current lack of funding is, such a massive cash infusion should never have been necessary.  Local jurisdictions failed to fund the system correctly in the first place.  This accident rests squarely on the shoulders of every politician elected to the Virginia General Assembly, the Maryland General Assembly, and the DC Council in the past thirty years.  Everyone knew this was coming, and they failed to act; blood is on their hands.  Greater Greater Washington sums it up nicely:

In the past, WMATA has followed some NTSB recommendations and not followed others. Two recommendations which they did not successfully complete include the installation of data recorders on all railcars and full retirement or reinforcement of the 1000 Series Railcars. They are currently taking a lot of heat for this, but in reality, they have had little choice in the matter.

The 1000 Series makes up about one-third of the Metro Fleet. Removing them from the tracks would mean major cutbacks in rail service. They’re already scheduled for retirement when replaced by the new 7000 Series in a few years. And while data recorders would have made the NTSB investigation easier, it would probably have not prevented this crash. Perhaps this tragedy will serve as a wakeup call to everyone in the process. Metro is underfunded, and has been for years. Deferred maintenance is taking its toll, and is keeping railcars in service longer than they should be. Everyone, from the local jurisdictions to the federal government should be willing to fund upgrades, especially considering that lives are at stake.

In the meantime, if you’re suddenly afraid of taking the Metro: Don’t be. Driving a car is still orders-of-magnitude more dangerous than transit. Two fatal crashes in over thirty years is a damn good record, and you’re a fool to fear the Metro more than your car.

DC Alerts Does It Again

I am really not intending to make this blog a running commentary on DC Alerts, but sometimes my hand just gets forced.  Though my last post on the issue was a bit tongue in cheek, my first post was leveled a serious criticism: DC Alerts needs to better train its operators about both when to send an alert and what to say in an alert.

A line of thunderstorms rolled through DC this morning, and upon waking I discovered an alert in my inbox.  Though the timing and purpose is fine, the content is – shall we say – questionable.  (Highlight mine.)

Subect: Alert DC – Severe Weather Watch

NWS issued a Severe Thunder Storm WATCH for the District from 05:55 06/09/09 to 06:45 06/09/09 . Please add_protective_actions_here .

This is just embarrassing.  Stupidity like this lessens the impact and usefulness of the system, and threatens the safety of the community.  The problem is entirely a human one, and it needs to be fixed.

DC Alerts Is Ready For the Zombie Apocalypse

I was pretty harsh on DC Alerts in my last post.  And I stand by that.  But say what I might about DC Alerts, I do have to give them props for one thing: They are ready for the Zombie Apocalypse.

If you’ve ever gotten an alert where a person might have been injured, the phrase “conscious and breathing” is often used to describe their state. It’s a curious turn of phrase, and makes one imagine the other possible permutations.  A nice table will be helpful here.

As you can see, DC Alerts really has their bases covered!  Hopefully, with their help, I’ll increase my odds of surviving.

In Case Of Zombies by Drunken Monkey used under a CC-BY-NC license.