May 23, 2006 - Where are our Stars?

Today, a classmate of mine from the U.S. Coast Guard Academy completed his 18 weeks of training to become a special agent in the FBI. As he and his FBI classmates walked across the stage to receive their badges, I had to think, how come none of these new agents were from Washington, DC? I then thought back to my graduating classes from business school in Chapel Hill, North Carolina, and at the U.S. Coast Guard Academy in New London, Connecticut. Not once have I walked across the stage with a classmate that was originally from Washington, DC. One could say that it is because our population is so small. While that has something to do with it, I think it has more to do with our extremely high dropout rates, excessive truancy, and bottom of the ladder test scores. While we have stars that make us all proud as they go on to do great things, we have far too few of them. As a community, we simply must do a better job ensuring our graduates can compete and excel at all levels. Washington, DC, residents should be walking across stages everywhere representing us and our academic accomplishments as they prepare for lives of professional achievement and community contributions. We simply must break this cycle of substandard performance that produces illiterate graduates that cannot function effectively in society, much less aid in solving our most difficult challenges. Tough times lie ahead - we must prepare our youth. Anything less is a risk not worth taking.

May 22, 2006 - Barney Circle

Reuben Hameed, along with several other volunteers, has been working overtime to line things up to request that ANC6B support Barney Circle's residents in their bid for a Historic District designation. If this is successful, it could be very helpful in preserving the existing character and charm of today's Barney Circle. However, it will take time to put the designation into effect. The Barney Circle Neighborhood Association will be aggressively communicating key items with other residents, not in attendance at the May 22 meeting, before officially requesting that the ANC back their request. Upon obtaining ANC approval, it will take another 6 months, at a minimum to prepare the nomination. The Historic Preservation Office takes the nomination to the Historic Preservation Review Board, which takes another 3-4 months to schedule, with a decision and implementation most likely occurring at the Review Board's meeting. My thoughts - this is great for Barney Circle and should be embraced. It will be up to the Barney Circle Neighborhood Association to present the pros and cons to the neighbors to get widespread support for the action. They intend to get busy making that happen immediately. It is great to see neighborhoods rallying to improve our community!

May 15, 2006 - Rosedale In Need

Folks that live close to the Rosedale Recreation Center see the numerous kids that take advantage of the recreational facility and the adjoining fields and courts for organized football, baseball and basketball. They also see that the hundreds of children that use Rosedale, are using a cramped, aged facility, that is in desperate need of renovation. To foster awareness within the City Council, the Rosedale Youth Institute, an organization of Rec Center parents and volunteers, and the Rosedale Citizens Alliance were able to get Kathy Patterson, the Chair of the Committee on Education, Libraries and Recreation, to visit the Rec Center for a discussion and tour. Clinton Sharp, president of the Institute, introduced the Councilmember at the meeting and outlined resident concerns. Also present were local ANC commissioners Gladys Mack and Mfon Ibangha; Frank Crawford, the Director of the Rec Center; Kevin Keegan, the new Police Inspector for PSA 103; the Hill Rag's Nancy Rosen; and yours truly. After hearing from members of the community, Ms. Patterson made remarks and toured the facility. She could not have walked away thinking anything other than that an overhauled, or entirely new, Rosedale Recreation Center should be a line item in next year's budget. The real question is how it wasn't in this year's budget, or last year's, or the previous year's, or........I'd say we need a city councilmember that will fight for our neighborhoods that have had a difficult time being heard in recent years. For the time being, a hearty thank-you should be going out to all those that do so much for so many children around Rosedale. A thank-you should also go to Clinton Sharp, Rick Uzes and the countless other long-term residents, parents and volunteers that are doing so much for the children of Rosedale on a daily basis, while aggressively promoting awareness for a new facility.

May 11, 2006 - Community Achievement

I had the good fortune of attending the 23rd Annual Capitol Hill Community Achievement Awards. It was an honor to see the Capitol Hill Community Foundation in action. But, I must say that I was most impressed by Janice and Hal Gordon, two of the evening's award recipients. Janice and Hal lead the Community Action Group (CAG), which operates out of the gatehouse at the Old Naval Hospital at 9th and Pennsylvania. For nearly 20 years, they have had a major impact in helping some of our community's most needy. CAG has turned into a network of programs in our area, some of which receive federal assistance, and all of which positively contribute to aiding those battling to recover from addiction and homelessness. The night was capped with the CAG's fifty-voice choir reverberating throughout the Folger Shakespeare Library. It was magnificent and there could be no more fitting a tribute for these two 'retired' community servants that do so much for so many. If you get a chance, I'd recommend you stop by the Old Naval Hospital gatehouse, or the CAG Fellowship Hall on the 100 block of 15th Street. They're always looking for community volunteers.

May 10, 2006 - ANC6C - Firing on all Cylinders

It is refreshing to see the commissioners of an ANC working together for the benefit of their respective neighborhoods. On May 10, 2006, ANC6C was particulary impressive as they rallied behind the residents of Golden Rule, Temple Courts, and Sursum Corda, by passing a motion demanding that the City Administrator (Robert Day), the Deputy Mayor for Planning and Economic Development (Stanley Jackson), and the Northwest One Council be present at the next community forum to discuss the Northwest One Plan. No one from the city was present at the April 21, 2006 meeting, when the residents of Temple Courts were notified by Bush Construction that their leases were being terminated and that all 211 families would be asked to leave within 90 days. The ANC is standing behind its residents to do whatever it can to facilitate a compromise that will keep Temple Courts residents as members of the Ward 6 community. I look forward to the next community forum when the city will be a more active and hopefully, a more helpful part of the discussion. Mark Dixon, the ANC6C Chairman, is organizing the next forum.
Also, on May 10th, ANC6C had reason to celebrate. Commissioners Mike Sherman and Bill Sisolak successfully led a community effort to rezone the Medlink block to R-5-B. Through Mike and Bill, along with the efforts of many, many neighbors like Bobbie Krengel, the community made and won its case, ensuring that the future site of today's Medlink will be in line with the City's Master Plan. We, along with those that will follow us, will forever benefit from this coordinated effort by ANC6C. Mike, Bill and Crew, thank-you!

May 9, 2006 - Every Vote Counts

"Every Vote Counts" - Attending all Ward 6 ANC meetings enables me to see our local democracy in action on a regular basis. At this evening's ANC6B meeting, it was especially apparent as SMD 6B01 had a special election to fill a recently vacated seat. Three distinguished candidates (Mark Waugh, Diane Branand, and Dave Garrison) for 6B01 Commissioner made presentations at the beginning of the meeting, with the polls opening immediately thereafter. Determining the winner literally came down to drawing lots as the top two candidates each received 42 votes. Upon swearing in by a DC Council Member, Dave Garrison will assume the duties of your next 6B01 Commissioner. Congratulations to Dave, as well as Diane and Mark for stepping up to serve!

April 28, 2006

School Modernization Celebration: Marc Borbely pulled together one heck of an event with his school modernization celebration on April 27, 2006. With Jack Evans, David Catania, Kathy Patterson and so many key school players in attendance (e.g., Darlene Allen - President of DC PTAs, Nathan Saunders - General VP of the Washington Teachers Union, Iris Toyer - Chair of Parents United for the DCPS, Sarah Woodhead - former head of DCPS facilities, and many, many more), coupled with the recent passing of this year's school modernization bill, this was clearly a time for celebration. It was also a time for acknowledging the incredible amount of work that lies ahead as this impressive group of activists and concerned citizens transitions from applying legislative pressure to 'spending oversight' in ensuring this year's impressive bill truly benefits students throughout DC by providing the infrastructure support required for a world class education system. While we will all be watchdogs, it is incumbent on all of us to be abreast and involved in making sure the modernization effort is successful in the coming years (& decades).

April 26, 2006

Mark Dixon, the chairman of ANC 6C, pulled together many of the community’s heavyweights involved in executing (or supposedly executing) the Northwest One Redevelopment Plan. From 6-9 PM on April 26, Mark led a discussion at the DC Housing Authority, where members of the development community, city leaders, and residents of Temple Courts and Sursum Corda, along with one of our local athletic superstars, Darrell Green (http://www.darrellgreen.com/), came together to discuss plans for Northwest One. The meeting got off to a rocky start as Bush Construction announced the forthcoming closure of Temple Courts, which would turn more than 200 families out onto the street. While a heated and passionate debate followed, it became clear to all that a general lack of communication existed amongst all parties. After hours of discussion, key government players left committed to getting the answers required for Temple Courts residents to better understand their future. As covered in the Washington Post in the ensuing days, Mayor Williams and the Federal Government (through HUD) have pledged themselves to finding an alternative that will prevent the Temple Courts residents from being dispersed. We’ll see……what clearly should have happened is that the City should have moved forward on the Northwest One redevelopment plan immediately after it was completed. New construction in line with the Plan would have provided the best option for Temple Courts residents as the City and Federal Government work to replace Temple Courts with a better product that would combine families across income levels. Since the Northwest One Plan has been sitting on the shelf, everyone is left pointing fingers as the Federal government has made it clear that Temple Courts is no longer adequate to provide safe housing for its residents.

Lesson Learned –
1. Communication must be improved amongst all players involved in providing and supporting housing for our communities.
2. While Temple Courts is on life-support, we had better urgently address the plan of how to keep our Temple Courts residents in the community. I have been nothing but inspired by Temple Courts resident and ANC Commissioner Lela Brown, who represents all that we are trying to preserve. We cannot turn our back on her and all that she represents. However, we can commit ourselves to creating improved housing opportunities that integrate Ms. Brown and her neighbors into communities that we can all be proud of (e.g., the new Kentucky Courts in SE).

Please see the Washington Post articles on April 27, 28 and 29 to see how this story played out in the papers:
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/04/28/AR2006042801929.html

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/04/27/AR2006042702185.html

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/04/26/AR2006042602824.html

Introduction

As I attend meetings and events throughout Ward 6, I would like to share many of the recurring messages I am hearing from the community. Running a campaign is an experience like none other. Rarely does one have the good fortune of getting to interact with so many people that are trying to improve Ward 6. What is missing is the person that can tie it all together so that we are all working in concert to accomplish our goals – working together, I will be that person.

I will use this page to share my ongoing thoughts as I continue to interact with so many talented and inspiring individuals throughout the Ward. I am regularly humbled and inspired by the people I meet and work with and look forward to introducing you to these people and their organizations as they often form the foundation for so many good things happening in our community. I will also use this page, in conjunction with my “Platform” to share my thoughts on our most difficult challenges.