Healthcare Trumps All

The saga unfolding around Greater Southeast Community Hospital (GSECH) has, once again, ignited a debate about corporate profits vs. quality health care. Councilmember Catania has justifiably caused a stir by accusing the corporate owner, Envision, of putting profits ahead of patient care. What is happening at GSECH mirrors the healthcare crisis going on around the country. Unfortunately, it's in our home town, and the neediest of District residents are the ones suffering.



Quality health care is a right, not a privilege for only those who can afford it. Our leaders must find a way to ensure that DC residents have access to health care without first being frisked by corporate number crunchers. Governor Schwarzenegger has a far-reaching plan in California that guarantees coverage for every Californian. DC residents deserve coverage as well.



As long as the federal government continues to avoid dealing seriously with the nation's out-of-control health-care crisis, local leaders must lean heavily on Congress and the White House to make necessary changes and improvements while, at the same time, protect local residents from corporate profiteering. I applaud David Catania's efforts to stand up to a large corporation and to champion the cause of those who need our help desperately--too many struggling residents of the District of Columbia in need of medical attention.

Effective Curfew Enforcement

The attempt by Councilmember Tommy Wells to move the curfew for teens up an hour to 10 PM was blocked when another member of the Council changed her vote at the last minute. I support curfews because they have the ability to keep our children and streets safer at night and to allow our police officers to focus on our other pressing enforcement needs.

During curfew hours, youth on the street are either taken home or taken in by officers on duty, but curfews are difficult to enforce. MPD is already understaffed, and combing every street and alley for kids out after curfew is challenging. Sure, most teens will obey the law and stay inside, but many will just ignore it. A curfew is only as good as MPD's ability to make it work.

When sudden crime spikes occur, as we are currently experiencing in The District, curfews must be enforced. But we must also think long-term. Later hours for recreation centers, teenager-targeted events and midnight basketball are all options that will allow our youth to stay up late, yet also be productive. Curfews are important, but let's all think about what we can do to create long-lasting stability in our neighborhoods.

Gun Control Takes Center Stage in Ward 8

Last weekend, I went to the Ward 8 Democrats debate on gun control. In attendance, were representatives from the city, the NRA, the Brady Center and the Million Mom March DC. It was a spirited debate, but I came away pessimistic about finding a true solution to the problem, at least as far as DC is concerned.



The problem was eloquently summed up by Ladd Everitt in his email following the event. Ladd is from the Million Mom March and was one of the panelists:

I told people in my remarks that I found it sad that we point fingers at each
other and are duped into criticizing DC's gun laws when traffickers from VA, MD
and elsewhere EVERY DAY are channeling illegal guns to our kids and profiting
from the ensuing bloodshed.

Ladd has a great point. Without secure borders, how can our small city really control its own destiny when it comes to keeping guns off the streets? It is so easy to go into a gun store, buy a gun and then sell it in DC, completely undetected. The answer really lies in the strengthening of federal gun laws and also in better enforcement of the laws in MD and VA. Even the strictest gun laws in DC won't prevent gun violence in our city. Nevertheless, DC residents must have the right to determine the gun laws in the District. Gun violence in Washington is just another example of how District residents are affected by the decisions of others.

An Old School Fathers Day

All around the country, fathers and their kids celebrated their unconditional love for each other on Fathers Day. Unfortunately, for many in the District of Columbia, children are without fathers. In some cases, dads are in jail or were murdered. In other cases, they simple choose not to be a part of their kids' lives and upbringing. No matter the reason, Fathers Day should remind us that many youth of this city desperately need our help.


The government cannot create fathers. All the money in the world will not create never-formed or broken bonds. But several groups of courageous and dedicated black men in the District have come together to create organizations that mentor children and steer them away from violence and crime. Yesterday, two such groups, Peaceoholics and Cease Fire, held a special Fathers Day cookout and baseball game for kids whose fathers are not there for them.


The baseball game featured my team, the "new school" Peaceoholics, coached by co-founders Jauhar Abraham and Ronald Motten, against the "old school" Madness, coached by Cease Fire founder Al-Malik Farrakhan. We were sure we were going to win, but at the end of the game, we were beaten by the "old school" brothers 20-0!!! I have never been so surprised, but Al-Malik fielded an amazing team.


Today, I was reminded again of two things:

1) There are great people doing great things in this community, doing everything they can to save and support our youth.

2) Respect our elders. Not only do they have the ability to make a difference in our community, but they are very good at baseball!

The Art of Risk Taking

Our mayor now has the future of more than 55,000 school children in his hands. We knew all along that this new governance structure was not going to support the status quo, and on Tuesday we were proven right. As soon as he could, Clifford Janey was sacked in favor of a seemingly untested 37-year old who started a non-profit whose mission is to improve urban public schools with out-of-the-box thinking. Questions have arisen about Michelle Rhee's qualifications, but DC has had "qualified" superintendents for the last 20 years, and look where that has gotten us, in a race to the bottom.

Mayor Fenty is certainly taking a risk by appointing Ms. Rhee, an accomplished and successful professional, but one who has never run a school system. But to the naysayers, I urge DC stakeholders to give her a chance and to do everything possible to support her success. Her success will be our success, for our children will get the education they deserve.


I don't have a crystal ball, but I applaud the Mayor for taking the road "less traveled by," and for pushing change. This appointment is certainly symbolic of the transformation of this city. New blood, energy, creative thinking. All hallmarks of success. We will all be watching to see if the execution is as good as the idea.

Taking Note of our Diversity

On Saturday evening, I marched in the Capitol Pride parade with the Gertrude Stein Democratic Club. My respect for the GLBT community in Washington, DC runs very deep, because I see the commitment to political action . The activism shown by Gertrude Stein and the rest of the GLBT community demonstrates how political involvement can yield positive results.

As a city, we must all realise that the GLBT community has faced discrimination for many years, but they did not take it passively. Groups like Gertrude Stein here in DC and Human Rights Campaign nationally have worked tirelessly to make their issues known and to fight for equal treatment regardless of sexual orientation.



Below are some pictures from the parade. Enjoy:

Tragedy at Unifest

DC made the news all over the world last Saturday, but this time for a local tragedy. A woman drove 70mph into a crowd of people, injuring 35, including young children. I have been addressing pedestrian safety issues on this blog for a while now, discussing dangerous intersections, enforcement, and ways to protect our residents. Unfortunately, the tragedy at Unifest has highlighted this problem once again. But this time, it has nothing to do with traffic lights, speed bumps or stop signs.



It seems that we are never entirely safe. No matter how much we work at it, tragedies can never be prevented entirely. What happened yesterday reminded me of the elderly man that killed 7 people with his car at a farmers market in Santa Monica, California. Bad things just happen every now and then, and we need to use these events to appreciate the value of human life and to cherish those closest to us.


How can we prevent future tragedies such as what happened at Unifest? Is it better safety barriers? Is it pedestrian vigilance? Is it better mental health care for those that may commit such acts? I would really like to hear ideas from readers today, because I think it's important for us to share our thoughts on this issue. We all go to street festivals in this city, and as summer begins, let's think about how we can make them safer.

Mayor Pledges to Examine Unsafe Streets

Back in April, after the tragic deaths of Crysta Spencer in Ward 6 and Ms. Covington in Ward 7, I asked readers to submit dangerous streets and intersections in their neighborhoods to Disctrict Matters so that I could deliver them directly to the Mayor and DDOT in attempt to prevent further needless pedestrian deaths. The Washington Post published this and I received a list of 24 intersections which residents felt needed some type of traffic control (lights, stop signs, speed bumps, cameras, etc.).

Last week I presented this list to Mayor Fenty at a community meeting on Minnesota Ave. traffic calming. The Mayor promised to look at each intersection on the list and examine them equally, regardless of ward, to see if safety improvements could be made. The dangerous intersections, as submitted by readers, can be found in the comments on my post from April 25th and listed here:

14th ST NW from Ft Stevens
5th Street NW, from Kansas Ave up through to Missouri Ave
100 Block of Chesapeake Street SW
Alabama Avenue and 18th Place SE
Buena Vista Terrance SE
C Street and 10th Street SE
C Street and Kentucky SE
Corcoran and 18th Street NW
E Street and 6th Street SE
K Street, West Virginia, and 11th Streets NE
M Street and 6th Street NW
Madison and 7th Street NW
Military Road and 14th Street NW
Minnesota Avenue and M Street SE
Missouri Ave NW between Georgia Ave and the PG county
line N Street NW between 1st Street NW and NJ Avenue NW
New York Avenue between 9th & North Capitol NW
North Carolina and 13th Street NE
Orleans Place and 6th Street NE
P Street and 5th Street NW
Pennsylvania Avenue and 7th Street NW
Q Street and 19th Street NW
Rhode Island Avenue and 15th NWSouth Carolina Avenue and 7th Street SE

The DC government cannot possibly know every single dangerous street in this city, and when a tragedy occurs, it is often too late. That's why it is so important that we as residents stay involved and let our leaders know when something needs to be fixed. When young Crysta Spencer and Ms. Covington died, it was a failure not only of our government, but of our entire community. We all have to work together to prevent these horrible accidents, so let's keep our feet to the fire, as well as our public officials'.