10 Wednesday, May 11, 2016
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The Northwest
Current
Davis Kennedy/Publisher & Editor Chris Kain/Managing Editor
Fixing Metro
When the region’s Metrorail tracks and tunnels have needed repairs, the Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority has worked to minimize disruptions to rush-hour service. That has meant scheduling repairs and maintenance outside of peak hours or overnight — or sometimes not doing the work at all, or doing it only once damage has become severe. Metro’s previous approach has, in many ways, been understandable. But it hasn’t been adequate. And now we’ve got some catching up to do. General manager Paul Wiedefeld has just announced months of single-tracking, reduced train service, reduced operating hours, and outright closures for some sections of track. It’s a slap in the face to riders who depend on Metro, but after years of unsustainable inaction, it should be hard for any of us to argue that the system isn’t in desperate need of repairs. Residents must also accept future disruptions to allow for ongoing preventative maintenance, so Metro never falls so far again. We’ve said before that we have great confidence in Mr. Wiedefeld, who has repeatedly taken politically risky positions in order to protect the safety of passengers and employees under his charge. We feel he has earned our trust, and that when he spells out a repair plan, we can have confidence that it was thoughtfully developed and will yield meaningful safety and long-term reliability improvements. That said, we hope Metro will be able to move more of its work to the summer months, when many residents are on vacation and the District’s schoolchildren don’t rely on the subway. Mr. Wiedefeld’s plan already has much of the work taking place in June through August, but we’ve begun to hear concerns from local officials about some of the remaining projects. We hope he is willing to consider shifting some schedules to the extent possible — as he has already wisely done by ruling out repair work during the upcoming presidential inauguration. The other important goal will be to make it easier for residents and commuters to get around above ground during subway service disruptions. Important options to consider are temporarily reserving a lane for buses on corridors affected by Metrorail issues, and prohibiting parking on those stretches to increase roadway capacity. We all benefit from Metro, be it directly or indirectly. It’s therefore appropriate that we all sacrifice together while the system is finding its feet again.
Library add-ons
The Current
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Historically, the main function of a public library has been to provide lots of books on shelves for patrons to browse and borrow. But as D.C. Public Library executive director Richard Reyes-Gavilan has noted, modern libraries offer much more, including access to programs and to computers. For many patrons, printed books are secondary to everything else you can get from your local library. It was this shift that crossed our mind when we heard Foggy Bottom residents ask that the West End Interim Library’s facility in the Watergate complex remain open even after the neighborhood’s rebuilt branch debuts next year. While our library system’s budget may not allow for two full-service branches half a mile from each other, perhaps there is a compromise step that could work well throughout the city, reminiscent of the library kiosks that served some parts of D.C. many years ago. We’re intrigued by the idea of small library locations sprinkled throughout the District, in spots that aren’t especially convenient to the nearest existing branch. These mini-branches might have little to no inventory of books on the shelves, but perhaps patrons could pick up reserved books and return them at a location convenient to their homes. They could offer computers that would give internet access to residents who can’t otherwise get on the web. They might have jobs training or placement programs. They might be a place where residents can pick up their tax forms, or a spot for small community meetings. They could accommodate story time programs for young children. Some of these facilities could even be co-located with existing government buildings, such as recreation centers and — at least in off-hours — public schools. There are potential downsides, of course. This approach, while less expensive than some alternatives, certainly isn’t free. It could siphon resources and customers away from the larger neighborhood libraries, and we would hate to see their vital role undermined. But given the evolution of the library, we would like the mayor, D.C. Council and Mr. Reyes-Gavilan to study whether this model, or something similar, could help broaden the library system’s reach.
The great state of whatchamacallit …
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o the latest effort to revive the District’s statehood push has hit a tiny snag: What would we call the new state if we were to become one? The placeholder name always has been “New Columbia.” But that obviously won’t work. The U.S. Postal Service already has a state with initials NC — North Carolina. And besides, some advocates want a clean break from our Last Colony days as the District of Columbia. Mayor Muriel Bowser, a hometown girl, likes the full name Washington, D.C. But we doubt the Postal Service will let us get away with WDC. All the states with two letters would be hugely jealous. The mayor held a news conference outside the Lincoln Cottage last Friday to promote the latest statehood movement. A proposed state constitution will be debated this summer, and citizens will be asked to vote to approve it. With everyone involved gearing up, some questioned the use of “New Columbia.” WAMU radio reporter Martin Austermuhle quoted Ward 7 resident Travis Swanson. “We have sugarcoated the history of Christopher Columbus and what he did as a person, and many cities and jurisdictions are starting to reject that notion,” Swanson said. “I don’t think we should bestow an honor on Columbus.” Austermuhle said Travis suggested the State of Sojourner, after women’s rights activist Sojourner Truth; or Commonwealth of Douglass, after abolitionist Frederick Douglass. WAMU said other names suggested included “Potomac” and “Anacostia.” But we don’t think anyone wants PO as our initials. And AN doesn’t have much of a ring to it. Of course, the name of our new state would be important, and more names will be suggested. But let’s not get ahead of ourselves. ■ Capitol Hill pushback. The revived statehood push is obscuring a different pushback from Republicans on Capitol Hill. The leadership has never acknowledged the city’s declaration of “budget autonomy.” City leaders had District voters approve a “budget autonomy” proposal declaring that the city no longer — despite Home Rule requirements since 1974 – has to submit its local funds budget to Congress for approval. The House Oversight and Government Reform Committee, which has jurisdiction over the District, is holding a hearing Thursday on the referendum. Republicans essentially have called it illegal. D.C. Del. Eleanor Holmes Norton warned on Monday that a spokesperson for House Speaker Paul Ryan said the GOP is considering “legislative options” to nullify the autonomy move. Norton is rousing a coalition of many liberal groups to help fight any Republican move. But it could be a tough battle. The city’s best hope may be that Speaker Ryan will be too busy on Thursday meeting with presumptive Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump to pay attention to the District. Of course, the committee Republicans can act without him.
Norton sounded the alarm. “We cannot ignore this year’s appropriations process as if we had already prevailed on budget autonomy and statehood,” she declared. ■ Capitol Hill’s Metro mush. Press releases came fast and furious last week. No sooner had Metro general manager Paul Wiedefeld laid out his ambitious repair plan than the region’s representatives in Congress unleashed a torrent of reactions. Rep. Chris Van Hollen, a Maryland Democrat who is his party’s nominee for a Senate seat, was short and to the point. He said the aggressive maintenance would cause “considerable inconvenience” throughout the region so “the end result must be nothing short” of real improvement. There was exhortation and criticism from most every member of Congress, Democrat and Republican. Rep. Barbara Comstock, R-Va., said the repair plan was “aggressive but necessary.” She said Metro should take serious actions to restore it to the “world class system its customers and hardworking taxpayers deserve.” Notably, none of the missives called on Congress itself to account for its missing-in-action posturing. None of the releases we saw demanded that the federal government become a true partner with Metro and help pay for its operating expenses along with the District, Maryland and Virginia. Mayor Bowser appeared on the Kojo Nnamdi Politics Hour last Friday and agreed the feds should do more than complain about the system on which so many federal workers depend. Your Notebook — and we have to say “rhetorically” or we’ll get in trouble — suggested that Metro shut down completely during the week of the Presidential Inauguration in January. We suggested that would get Congress’ attention. Bowser blanched at the suggestion, but we made our point. Congress does lots of complaining, but its contributions stop there. Local leaders ought to join Metro chair Jack Evans in calling out Congress. If the local folks won’t shut down Metro for repair work during the inaugural, maybe they could at least consider voting to shut down the Capitol South station that feeds the House side of the Hill. Congress doesn’t act unless it’s pushed. ■ Discrimination? The American Civil Liberties Union has issued a blistering statement saying the District’s plan to spend $20 million on an all-boys public school discriminates against girls. The ACLU made it clear that it is reaching out to parents whose daughters may be disadvantaged to prepare for possible legal action. The ACLU criticism didn’t surprise Ward 3 D.C. Council member Mary Cheh. The law professor had raised similar issues when Mayor Bowser announced the program. “It’s heartbreaking that any child should be at the risk of failure,” Cheh said this week. She applauded efforts to help struggling young boys, but said girls should be included, too. “Anything short of full equality is illegal and wrong.” Tom Sherwood, a Southwest resident, is a political reporter for News 4.
TOM SHERWOOD’s
Notebook
Letters to the Editor UDC building could offer senior services I’m writing in response to recent letters to the editor by Jay Thal, Lois F. Berlin and others regarding senior services in Ward 3. Why hasn’t anyone considered investigating the
possibility of assigning space in the University of the District of Columbia’s new student union building, which the D.C. taxpayers have funded? The university has a department of aging and geriatrics, which should provide some incentive to consider this as a possibility. It’s especially important to provide space for these services as soon as possible. It’s even more worrisome because of pos-
sible consequences due to the demise of the Washington Home, having been sold to Sidwell Friends School. Other important senior service providers are changing ownership elsewhere in the city. This puts all kinds of senior services in jeopardy when the need is greater than ever. The entire city is at risk, not just Ward 3. Dee Foscherari Van Ness