An Oak Hill Thanksgiving

Last Thursday, most of us spent the day eating turkey and watching football; appreciating all that life has given us. But for 250 children, Thanksgiving was spent behind bars at the Oak Hill Youth Center, the District's juvenile detention facility. On Thanksgiving Day, I visited Oak Hill with Jauhar Abraham, CEO of The Peaceoholics. We were allowed to share Thanksgiving dinner with the residents of the facility.

Never before in my life have I felt so much pain. Just days before, a riot broke out in one of the buildings, and several of the residents were still confined to their cells. The tension in the air permeated everything and everyone. I realized that Oak Hill is not a place that rehabilitates inmates, it seems to create more anger. This was validated when Jauhar from the Peaceoholics told me that 90 children who were released from Oak Hill were later murdered. This is the face of juvenile justice in the District, and it continues to foster the cycle of violence that plagues our city.

Oak Hill is symbolic of the challenges that we face as we move forward in the District of Columbia. For years, Oak Hill has been ignored and children have grown up to become either criminals or a statistic. Finally, Mayor Fenty is working to change the facility and I support efforts that will improve the environment so we can have the best possible chance to rehabilitate our youth and welcome them to contributing to the continuing progress that our City needs.

This will not be easy. It is clear that the approach to this issue over the past several decades has failed. It will require fresh ideas and energetic leadership on City Council to find a solution and support Mayor Fenty's efforts. Anything less is unacceptable.

Toxic Trains Too Risky

Last week, a CSX Train carrying coal derailed and crashed into the Anacostia River. Fortunately, there were no casualties, and the relatively benign coal caused little environmental damage. But suppose the train cars were filled with a toxic substance? We may have been faced with one of the largest environmental disasters in the history of our city. This accident should serve as a warning and actually brings back memories of an incident in 2005.



After a tragic toxic spill in Baltimore, the City Council moved to pass a bill that rerouted trains carrying dangerous substances. The bill has not been implemented because of lawsuits by CSX and the federal government. But this accident should serve as a reminder to keep pushing as hard as we can to ensure that our railways are safe and our environment is protected.



My opponent in my upcoming City Council race, Carol Schwartz, opposed the rerouting of toxic trains, despite overwhelming public support to pass the bill. Her decision to oppose the bill was based on the costs of fighting the lawsuits. But how high a price would we have paid if those trains last week were carrying fuel? It's not enough to rely on CSX to make their own decisions. As residents, we need to fight on to ensure that our safety and our environment are protected.

DC's Poorest Residents Crying for Help

A report released today by the DC Fiscal Policy Institute has confirmed what many of us have feared--the gap between rich and poor in this city continues to grow. The situation has become so severe that only Atlanta and Tampa have higher income inequality. An article in yesterday's Washington Post shed light on the human side of the issue, discussing the gradual shift in constituent services among our Councilmembers. In the past, constituent services focused on potholes, trees, crime and other city government issues. Today, we are seeing an increase in the number of residents looking to elected officials for financial help, including rent, utilities, and even funeral payments.



The constituent-service funds overseen by Councilmembers can alleviate many of these needs, and I am a huge supporter of their use for those in severe crisis. Unfortunately, the money can provide only temporary emergency assistance, not help for our neediest constituents to build better lives for themselves. Long-term projects such as school reform, vocational training, the improvement of UDC, and health care access are all essential to offering greater opportunity for our neediest residents to live decently.



The changing needs of residents as referenced in the Post article should be seen as the canary in the coal mine. If we do not find long-term solutions, the problem will escalate, causing future expenditures to spin out of control. Sonn, the constituent service funds will be used up.

Health Department Shake Up

Mayor Fenty's citywide shake-up continued last week with the firing of Gregg Pane, the director of the Health Department. While Pane came to DC with excellent credentials, health problems in the District persist, and I applaud the Mayor for his aggressive approach. Unacceptable levels of infant mortality, HIV/AIDS, diabetes, obesity, asthma and now even staph have combined with an access problem in poor neighborhoods to create a real emergency. Just as with our school system, it is time for drastic change.



I hope that Mayor Fenty looks to cities around the nation for qualified health professionals and best practices when choosing a candidate. Whether it is New York City's successful HIV/AIDS prevention campaigns or California's proposed health care plan, we need to look to other regions and cities to find solutions that work elsewhere. We also need to seriously examine the bureaucracy to make sure that DOH employees are performing adequately and that we have the most qualified and dedicated employees.



Furthermore, I believe that the new director of DOH needs to improve response in the event of a large public health outbreak. This is a real possibility and an unprepared government can prove deadly. Washington, DC, can and should be an example to the rest of the country of quality heath care and health care emergency services. We residents deserve it. should demand it, and should hold our public officials accountable.

The School Libraries Project

More than a year ago, I became involved in the School Libraries Project (SLP), a non-profit supported by the Capitol Hill Community Foundation as well as DCPS. Realizing that the disrepair of our public schools included the libraries, a group of concerned parents on the Hill took matters into their own hands and began raising money to renovate the libraries in neighborhood schools such as Brent, J.O. Wilson and Peabody. On October 24th, the final library will be complete, capping a multi-year effort that highlighted the commitment of an entire community to solve a serious problem.



As good as this project is, it serves only one neighborhood and eight schools. Thousands of children around our city deserve to have quality libraries. SLP is one of the few public school successes ocurring before the launch of Mayor Fenty's aggressive school reform plan. IT is also one that needs to be expanded.



Parents and residents in neighborhoods all across the city have a great example in SLP to see what their own schools can become. I encourage you to visit SLP and see for yourself. It truly is a model we should strive for as a city. My hat goes off to Todd Cymrot, Suzanne Wells, Catherine Townsend and many other parents who made this vision come to life.