DC One Card: Too Much In One Place?

The school gave all the students one .... instead, my son still uses the tokens on the bus to get to school.... a bigger pain if you lose the card.....

Activists demand privacy protections for DC One Card

By: Michael Neibauer
Examiner Staff Writer
October 11, 2009

Privacy advocates have sounded the alarm about the District government's effort to issue a single, traceable identification card to residents, urging the D.C. Council to adopt legislation that protects the privacy of all users.

The DC One Card has been adopted by the Fenty administration as a single credential for use as a school and government employee ID, as a SmarTrip card for Metro, as a library card and as a recreational facility access card. It is designed to be used by any District government agency, though only a handful have signed on so far.

"People get very nervous when they're tracked from birth certificate to death by government agencies collecting information about them," Ward 3 Councilwoman Mary Cheh, chairwoman of the government operations committee, said at a public hearing.

Cheh scheduled the hearing after some of her constituents were told they could not gain access to the new Wilson Aquatic Center without one. The Department of Parks and Recreation uses the card as its main credential for admittance.

The One Card maximizes efficiency, saves money and increases convenience, said interim Chief Technology Officer Chris Willey. The card collects only seven pieces of data, like gender and contact information, he said, and it "tracks nothing."

The Office of the Chief Technology Officer is bound by a privacy policy that limits data collection to a minimum and bars the agency from tracking users, Willey said. But other government entities, he added, are not bound by OCTO's privacy policy -- in fact, an agency that uses the One Card is under no obligation to have a privacy policy at all.

And that might be the problem, Cheh said after Friday's hearing. OCTO has oversight of the One Card initiative by default because it created the technology, she said, but there is no office setting governmentwide standards.

"This ought to be something in the City Administrator's Office, managed correctly and monitored," Cheh said.

Privacy advocates urged better protections, strong enforceable rules and decentralized databases to prevent abuse. "Diverse and competitive identification" are inherently more secure and private than a single, unified system, said Jim Harper, director of information policy studies at the Cato Institute.

"Whenever the government constructs a large centralized database the privacy interests of those who are in the database are implicated," said Steve Block, legislative counsel with the American Civil Liberties Union of the National Capital Area.

mneibauer@washingtonexaminer.com

http://www.washingtonexaminer.com/local/Activists-demand-privacy-protections-for-DC-One-Card-8364835-63874412.html

Upward Mobility: A Toilet

Americans should take note of the success of this program in India - No Toilet, No Bride accompanied by the jingle "no loo, no I do". While some Americans may think that all Americans have indoor plumbing the following dated statistics from the 2000 census show that while a small percentage, not everyone in America benefits from indoor plumbing.

States with the highest rates of residents without complete plumbing facilities in the 2000 US census:
Alaska - 6.3%
New Mexico - 1.8%
Arizona - 1.1%
Hawaii, West Virginia - 1%
District of Columbia, Kentucky, Maine, Missisippi - 0.9%
Arkansas - 0.8%

The broader implications of this campaign are also clear to me - I am one of those who for a long time has promoted the idea, despite it's possible negative impact on myself, that if women throughout the world withheld sex from men in a coordinated campaign, world disarmament could occur faster than anyone thought possible. Just a thought.



In India, New Seat of Power for Women
Prospective Brides Demand Sought-After Commodity: A Toilet

By Emily Wax
Washington Post Foreign Service
Monday, October 12, 2009

NILOKHERI, India -- An ideal groom in this dusty farming village is a vegetarian, does not drink, has good prospects for a stable job and promises his bride-to-be an amenity in high demand: a toilet.

In rural India, many young women are refusing to marry unless the suitor furnishes their future home with a bathroom, freeing them from the inconvenience and embarrassment of using community toilets or squatting in fields.

About 665 million people in India -- about half the population -- lack access to latrines. But since a "No Toilet, No Bride" campaign started about two years ago, 1.4 million toilets have been built here in the northern state of Haryana, some with government funds, according to the state's health department.

Women's rights activists call the program a revolution as it spreads across India's vast and largely impoverished rural areas.

"I won't let my daughter near a boy who doesn't have a latrine," said Usha Pagdi, who made sure that daughter Vimlas Sasva, 18, finished high school and took courses in electronics at a technical school.

"No loo? No 'I do,' " Vimlas said, laughing as she repeated a radio jingle.

"My father never even allowed me an education," Pagdi said, stroking her daughter's hair in their half-built shelter near a lagoon strewn with trash. "Every time I washed the floors, I thought about how I knew nothing. Now, young women have power. The men can't refuse us."

Indian girls are traditionally seen as a financial liability because of the wedding dowries -- often a life's savings -- their fathers often shell out to the groom's family. But that is slowly changing as women marry later and grow more financially self-reliant. More rural girls are enrolled in school than ever before.

A societal preference for boys here has become an unlikely source of power for Indian women. The abortion of female fetuses in favor of sons -- an illegal but widespread practice -- means there are more eligible bachelors than potential brides, allowing women and their parents to be more selective when arranging a match.

"I will have to work hard to afford a toilet. We won't get any bride if we don't have one now," said Harpal Sirshwa, 22, who is hoping to marry soon. Neem tree branches hung in the doorway of his parents' home, a sign of pride for a family with sons. "I won't be offended when the woman I like asks for a toilet."

Satellite television and the Internet are spreading images of rising prosperity and urban middle-class accouterments to rural areas, such as spacious apartments -- with bathrooms -- and women in silk saris rushing off to the office.

India's rapid urbanization has also contributed to rising aspirations in small towns and villages. On a crowded highway that runs into this village, about 170 miles north of New Delhi, young women, once seen clinging to the backs of motorbikes driven by their fathers or husbands, now drive their own scooters. One recent popular TV ad shows a rural girl sheepishly entering a scooter showroom, then beaming as she whizzes through the parking lot on her new moped.

With economic freedom, women are increasingly expecting more, and toilets are at the top of their list, they say.

The lack of sanitation is not only an inconvenience but also contributes to the spread of diseases such as diarrhea, typhoid and malaria.

"Women suffer the most since there are prying eyes everywhere," said Ashok Gera, a doctor who works in a one-room clinic here. "It's humiliating, harrowing and extremely unhealthy. I see so many young women who have prolonged urinary tract infections and kidney and liver problems because they don't have a safe place to go."

Previous attempts to bring toilets to poor Indian villages have mostly failed. A 2001 project sponsored by the World Bank never took off because many people used the latrines as storage facilities or took them apart to build lean-tos, said Ranjana Kumari, director of the Center for Social Research in New Delhi, who worked on the program.

But by linking toilets to courtship, "No Toilet, No Bride" has been the most successful effort so far. Walls in many villages are painted with slogans in Hindi, such as "I won't get my daughter married into a household which does not have a toilet." Even popular soap operas have featured dramatic plots involving the campaign.

"The 'No Toilet, No Bride' program is a bloodless coup," said Bindeshwar Pathak, founder of Sulabh International, a social organization, and winner of this year's Stockholm Water Prize for developing inexpensive, eco-friendly toilets. "When I started, it was a cultural taboo to even talk about toilets. Now it's changing. My mother used to wake up at 4 a.m. to find someplace to go quietly. My wife wakes up at 7 a.m., and can go safely in her home."

Pathak runs a school and job-training center for women who once cleaned up human waste by hand. They are known as untouchables, the lowest caste in India's social order. As more toilets come to India, the women are less likely to have to do such jobs, Pathak said.

"I want so much for them to have skills and dignity," Pathak said. "I tell the government all the time: If India wants to be a superpower, first we need toilets. Maybe it will be our women who finally change that."

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/10/11/AR2009101101934.html?hpid=topnews&sub=AR

DC Council Stands Up To Fenty

The DC Council has taken the unusual step of rebuking Mr. Fenty.




Fenty's Pick to Lead Parks Agency Rejected
Council Vote, Coming After Accusations of Bias, Aggravates Relations With Mayor

By Tim Craig and Nikita Stewart
Washington Post Staff Writers
Wednesday, October 7, 2009

The D.C. Council voted Tuesday to block Ximena Hartsock from becoming the next director of the Department of Parks and Recreation, aggravating the tension between the council and the mayor and casting fresh doubt on the future of the troubled agency.

After a long debate, the council voted 7 to 5 to reject Hartsock and remove her as the head of an agency that has had seven permanent or interim directors in the past decade.

It was the first time since Fenty took office in 2007 that the council had rejected one of his nominees to lead a city agency, which could mark a turning point for the administration in how it deals with labor unions and their allies on the council.

The vote followed a contentious hearing Friday night that brought cries of racial and ethnic bias after council member Marion Barry (D-Ward 8) implied that Hartsock, who is Hispanic, did not understand black culture.

Before the vote, council members strongly denied allegations of bias and sought to distance themselves from Barry, who missed the vote because he was in the hospital suffering from dehydration.

But the Fenty administration seized on Barry's remarks and slammed the council for rejecting a Hispanic nominee.

"Outrageous. Outrageous," Attorney General Peter Nickles said. "One of the most qualified Latinas in the city. A PhD. A principal. . . . She was treated unfairly."

Nickles added, "I hope the community, particularly the Latino community, recognizes how shabbily she has been treated."

Tuesday also saw dozens of activists on both sides of the same-sex marriage debate cram into the council chambers to watch the introduction of a bill to allow same-sex couples to wed in the District.

"We are about to embark on an exciting journey here in the city," council member David A. Catania (I-At Large) told the audience when he introduced his bill shortly after noon.

Catania was joined by nine of his colleagues in sponsoring the bill, which is expected to pass easily. But opponents, including Bishop Harry Jackson, pastor of Hope Christian Church in Beltsville, and the Archdiocese of Washington, have vowed to fight the measure.

But after months of anticipation, the introduction of the same-sex marriage measure was fairly anti-climactic, leaving Hartsock's nomination as the most controversial legislation of the day.

Fenty, in a statement, called Hartsock a "stellar candidate" and said she "has excelled in every challenge she's been given both as an educator and as the interim director of this agency."

The vote comes as council members are increasingly frustrated with the direction of the agency under Fenty.

Specifically, council members are furious that Fenty continues to push to privatize the agency's day-care centers, which has resulted in staff layoffs. The council has twice approved measures in recent months designed to slow or block the move, and members blamed Hartsock for failing to comply.

"We have had too many examples of people in the executive branch who have simply chosen to ignore the laws of this council, and I am sick and tired of it," said council member Mary M. Cheh (D-Ward 3).

The compliance issue stems from the Fenty administration's battle with AFGE Local 2741, which fought the layoffs of 160 workers with the privatization of 13 child-care centers.

Council member Harry Thomas Jr. (D-Ward 5), known for siding with labor unions, has been pushing since spring to prevent the privatization and questioned whether the city would save $4 million as the administration asserted.

Ben Butler, president of Local 2741, called the Hartsock decision a victory for the union.

"This was not a worker-friendly director. She seemed to come in with a mandate to eliminate our child-care system, which put more than 160 workers out of work and left . . . parents and children without care," he said.

The Fenty administration is scrambling to figure out a way to keep Hartsock in the job. But council officials say she has be removed as director because members approved a formal disapproval resolution.

"The council can only do two things -- legislate and oversight -- and we take both things seriously," council Chairman Vincent C. Gray (D) said after the vote.

Council members who opposed Hartsock said she lacked the qualifications to lead the agency because she did not have experience in the details of recreation. Fenty appointed Hartsock, a former D.C. public school principal who ran after-school programs, as interim director in April after he abruptly fired then-Director Clark E. Ray.

Fenty said at the time that he wanted to "shift gears."

Hartsock quickly embraced her new job, working to meet Fenty's ambitious agenda for opening playgrounds and a full complement of swimming pools during the summer.

But she always struggled to maintain good relations with Thomas, chairman of the Committee on Libraries, Parks and Recreation, even though other council members had grown fond of her.

"My philosophy, absent serious challenges with the agency and its leadership, the council should defer to the mayor," Thomas said. "However, after careful consideration and deliberation, it is clear this nominee has not met the benchmark."

The five council members who supported Hartsock countered that their colleagues were unfairly targeting Hartsock because of their hostility toward Fenty.

"The mayor deserves to have his nominee unless there is something extremely wrong," said council member Jack Evans (D-Ward 2), adding that Hartsock has been "very responsive" and is "well-liked" by residents.

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/10/06/AR2009100603453.html

From the Post's blogs -

Council Rejects Hartsock Nomination

The D.C. Council voted Tuesday afternoon to reject Ximena Hartsock as the next director of the department of parks and recreation, delivering a setback to Mayor Adrian M. Fenty (D).

After nearly an hour of debate, the council voted 7 to 5 in support of a disapproval resolution.

Council Chairman Vincent C. Gray (D), Michael Brown (I-At large), Kwame Brown (D-At large), Phil Mendelson (D-At large), Mary M. Cheh (D-Ward 3), Yvette Alexander (D-Ward 6) and Harry Thomas, Jr. (D-Ward 5) all voted against Hartsock.

Because the council approved an official disapproval resolution, council officials say Hartsock will have to immediately give up her position. Neither Fenty nor Hartsock was immediately available for comment but the action will likely worsen the feud between the council and the administration.

The council's decision comes as members are increasingly frustrated with the direction of the department under Fenty.

In recent weeks, council and the Fenty administration have been squabbling over the administration's efforts to privatize some daycare operations within the department.

Council members have accused Hartsock, who has been interim director since former director Clark E. Ray was fired in April, of ignoring council legislation seeking to delay the privatization efforts.

"We have had too many examples of people in the executive branch who have simply chosen to ignore the laws of this council, and I am sick and tired of it," Cheh said.

Thomas, the chairman of the Committee on Parks and Recreation, also argued that Hartsock was not qualified to lead the agency because she has experience in programming but not in the details of recreation.

"My philosophy absent serious challenges with the agency and its leadership, the council should refer to the mayor," Thomas said. "However after careful consideration and deliberation, it is clear this nominee has not met the benchmark."

But the Washington Post editorial board and others have raised questions whether some of the opposition to Hartsock was racially motivated.

At her confirmation hearing Friday, Council member Marion M. Barry (D-Ward 8) questioned whether Hartsock "understands" the culture of African-Americans. Barry did not vote today because he was hospitalized last night for dehydration.

The five council members who supported Hartsock argued their colleagues were unfairly targeting Hartsock because of their hostility for Fenty.

"The mayor deserves to have his nominee unless there is something extremely wrong," said Evan, adding Hartsock has been "very responsive" and is "well-liked" by residents.

"The residents in my ward are very supportive of this nominee," Evans said.

Graham added Hartsock shouldn't be a pawn in the dispute between the mayor and council.

"To be rejected by the council of the District Columbia, after she worked herself into a frazzle in making things right, it seems to me something is fundamentally unfair about this," Graham said.

--Tim Craig

Shaw Development - Upcoming

Reposted from the Shaw Listserve:

Shaw Development Meeting Info
Posted by: "Stephanie Marie" dolci76@yahoo.com dolci76
Wed Sep 30, 2009 7:25 pm (PDT)

Hi All
My neighbor and I attended the Shaw Main Streets Development Forum at the convention center this evening, and I thought I would share with you all the projects happening in our neighborhood.

1- Douglas Development Properties. This company has several projects going on in Shaw. At 641 S Street, the Wonder Bread Building, the development is on hold. They are "victims of the times" and are having a hard time getting leasees. They are not sure when this project's construction will begin. 1234 9th Street is the Longview Gallery which will also have a restaurant on the same block. They have a restaurant group interested. 7th and New York Ave, office space and retail is planned. The buildings will be restored and unboarded soon. 7th and Florida Ave. This was a Popeyes, and they are in the leasing phase now. They are taking their time to get quality leasees. They had turned down offers from places that "need bullet proof glass", sell single malt beverages, cash checks, and serve fast food. There is interest from Nike regarding the property. They will not lease to "undesireable" tenants who have already approached them.
They are holding out for quality tenants and will take their time. At the 9th St strip near convention center, they plan on leasing to restaurants.

2- 1501 9th Street- Inle Development. Now a vacant car lot across from Shiloh Baptist on the corner of 9th and P Sts, the property will be developed into a Burmese restaurant with a few floors for seating and a bar. I believe the developer said the building would be fifty feet tall. Outdoor seating is also planned. The restaurant owner will take up the top of the building as a residence. As everyone else, they ran into financing hiccups, and the banks were hesitant with a non-chain, mom-pop restaurant. However, they plan to breakground in 1-2 quarters, with a grand opening set for the holidays of 2010!!!

3- Addison Square at Kelsey Gardens, 7th and P Sts. The developer has PUD approval from the DC government. There will be 54 affordable apartments, with the rest at market-value. The bank is holding them up, and HUD is doing some underwriting. The developer said that things are moving "slower than slow" due to the economy. They plan to start building next summer, and demolition starting late spring, early summer 2010. As soon as demolitiion is done, they have to be ready to develop immediately because there will be a huge hole there since the current buildings are deep in the ground. The street level of the buildings will have restaurants (one white-tablecloth place, and one more casual, but not fast food), and retail. There will also be a parking garage.

4- Media One Center (formerly Broadcast One Center) and Howard Theatre. The Media One Center will be along 7th St between S and T Sts. There have been economic roadblocks, but they have "weathered the storm". They will get in the ground before the end of 2009. Construction of Media Center One will take 24 months to complete, and will have office, retail and apartments. 25% of the apartments will be afforable. Radio One and TV One make-up Media Center One. Radio One will sign a 15-year lease, and TV One is affiliated with Comcast, so the worries expressed about the financial status of Radio One and TV One should no longer be a concern for people. They have pledged $250,000 in scholarships to the community, and will offer students internships. TV One will have a jumbotron outside showing its broadcasts. Howard Theatre (www.howardtheatre.com) will take 13-14 months to construct, and is located on T St. It will be a soundstage and a
restaurant. There will be community programs to teach local chidren jazz. The 100th anniversary of the theatre is in 2010, so the developer is committed to breaking that ground before the year is over so that come Winter 2011, the theatre will be open for a grand 101-yr celebration. The restauranteur interested in setting up in the theatre is negotiating a 20-yr lease, which is apparently unheard of.

5- City Market at O Street. The developer of City Market at O St is also a member of the Shaw Main Streets Board, and is very vested in the community. In 2008, all of their equity partners disappeared. They have been able to secure a $2.5 million pre-development grant, and the start date is September 3, 2010. On that date, they will begin the first phase, which is the revitalization, restoration and stabilization of the O Street Market. The new Giant will be in the marketplace, taking up 7th St between O and P Sts. There will be a coffee shop on the corner of 7th and O Sts, and a cafe inside the Giant. The Giant will be 54,000 sq ft of selling space. That does not include the prep-space for all of the prepared foods, etc. The closest size supermarket is the new Safeway, which totals 54,000-56,000 sq ft but that includes all of their prep space. There will be murals along the building on 7th and P Sts, done by local artists. The
murals will depict food and Shaw history. The current Giant will close January 15, 2011 and will be back up and running in 24 months (they are planning for 18 mos). Demolition of Giant will start Feb 2011. They plan to reopen 8th St between O and P Sts to limited traffic. There will also be retail, a gym, restaurant (6,000 to 8,000 sq ft), senior housing, 260 market-rate apartments, a hotel, condos and 567 parking spaces. The condos will face 9th St, and the hotel lobby will be at 9th and O Sts. The Giant, apartments, senior housing and hotel will be built first. The apartments and senior housing breakground Feb 2012.

That is the major news, in a nutshell. As a sidenote, we learned that there is a project at 7th and R Sts for 96 rental units, all afforable, but there is a lot of tweaking left. We also learned that Marriott owns land around 9th and L Sts, and will build two smaller hotels along with retail, before the big Marriott Marquee is completed.

We are well on our way to be a destination here in Shaw, and not just somewhere to pass through!
Thanks
Stephanie on Marion

Rooftop Solar In Spain - Made In The USA

Rooftop solar - somebody in Spain is getting it........ now if our so called energy planners would just get it.......

Monday, October 5, 2009, 5:17pm PDT | Modified: Tuesday, October 6, 2009, 5:00am

Premier Power sells $3M solar power system

Sacramento Business Journal - by Melanie Turner Staff writer

Premier Power Renewable Energy Inc. has secured a contract for the sale of a 600 kilowatt rooftop solar system in Spain, the company announced Monday.

Premiere Power (OTCBB: PPRW) landed contracts for more than 400 kilowatts of similar solar rooftop installations in Spain last month.

The project announced Monday is valued at about $3 million, according to Premier Power of El Dorado Hills. Premier Power designs, engineers and builds solar power systems for commercial, government and utility markets in the United States, Spain and Italy.

The 600 kilowatt system will use “polycrystalline solar modules” by General Electric and power inverters provided by Ingeteam. A private investor group, which has leased the commercial rooftop for a 25-year term, is funding the system purchase.

“With a majority of Spain’s rooftop solar energy targets unmet, and increased government support of rooftop solar systems through a revised feed-in tariff, the commercial rooftop market has become the leading solar market segment in Spain,” Bjorn Persson, executive vice president of European operations for Premier Power, said in a news release.

http://sacramento.bizjournals.com/sacramento/stories/2009/10/05/daily13.html

FentyRhee In Action - Teachers Cut

District Schools Lay Off Teachers
Layoffs Come Amid Scramble to Staff Security Checkpoints

By Bill Turque and Emma Brown
Washington Post Staff Writers
Saturday, October 3, 2009

In one of the most turbulent days in its recent history, the D.C. public schools system laid off more than 200 teachers Friday and coped with the abrupt loss of its 300 security guards, whose company went out of business overnight Thursday.

The combination of events, which included a skirmish between students and police at McKinley Technology High School that resulted in two arrests, highlighted the challenges faced by Schools Chancellor Michelle A. Rhee and Mayor Adrian M. Fenty (D) as they struggle to reform the troubled system in lean economic times. The layoffs were the deepest cuts for the school system since 2003.

In all, 388 school employees received separation notices, the latest jolt to a system that has seen broad and sometimes wrenching change under Rhee. The schools chief has rolled out a tough evaluation regimen that links some instructors' job security to standardized test scores and raised the bar for other educators with an elaborate set of classroom requirements and guidelines.

In a sign of significant progress, a federal judge told Rhee on Friday that the city had made enough gains in reforming its special education system that he would consider releasing the District from court oversight.

But Rhee, beginning her third school year in the District, also learned on the eve of the layoffs that Hawk One, the company that placed security guards in the city's 127 schools, had gone out of business. The company had been experiencing financial troubles and was not expected to continue working in schools when its contract expired in December, but its abrupt collapse sent officials scrambling.

"These same security guards, they dealt with the kids throughout the year, so you take them away from the students in addition to taking the teachers away and replace them with D.C. cops -- it was a terrible situation," said Kaprice Perry, whose daughter is a senior at McKinley.

Schools opened Friday with a patchwork of police and school administrators staffing security checkpoints. Although the loss of the guards slowed the beginning of school at some locations, the day proceeded quietly by most accounts. Two firms, Securitas and U.S. Security Associates, will be working at schools beginning Monday, officials said.

The McKinley scuffle was the only serious incident reported. An estimated 200 students gathered outside the Northeast Washington school as the day ended to protest the staff layoffs. Witnesses said that a female student angrily confronted police and fell or was knocked to the ground. She was arrested.

Saymendy Lloyd, mother of a ninth-grader at McKinley, said she was arrested for disorderly conduct after questioning the student's arrest. "I said children should be able to express themselves," Lloyd said. "They said, 'You're interfering with police business.' "

Police said two people were arrested but gave no details.

"This should not have happened," said McKinley PTA President Michelle Lewis. "The mayor should have handled it different. This whole year is disrupted."

Officials said the layoffs were necessary to close a $43.9 million gap in the system's 2010 budget caused by a round of July spending cuts and what Rhee called the need to "right-size" a school system that has seen steep enrollment declines during the past decade. That meant shedding the cost of extra teachers, counselors, janitors and other personnel. Central office programs and personnel were also trimmed, although officials did not offer details.

The 229 teachers were placed on paid administrative leave and will be dropped from the payroll Nov. 2. They represent about 6 percent of the classroom teaching force of 3,800.

School officials did not specify which schools had experienced layoffs, saying only that the cuts were concentrated at a relatively small number. They said 39 schools experienced no layoffs, and another 37 lost just one staff member. A dozen schools lost five or more. The heaviest cutbacks were expected to occur in high schools, some of which have not reached their projected enrollments.

Sources said as many as 20 faculty and staff members at Cardozo High School were in danger of dismissal, along with 18 at Ballou High and 15 at Spingarn High. Rhee promised minimal disruption to student schedules.

Principals were provided with a "separation notification script" to use when presenting teachers with dismissal notices Friday afternoon. It asked that they return all District property and said they could return Saturday between 10 a.m. and 2 p.m. to gather personal belongings.

At Cardozo High School, Brittany Lee, 25, a laid-off first-year special-ed teacher, was loading boxes into her car, aided by a student. She said some students in her class read on the second-grade level, and she questioned the District's ability to serve them.

"I don't understand what class my students are going to learn to read in," Lee said.

Veteran teachers had expressed fears that they would be targeted by Rhee and school principals, who were not bound by seniority considerations in drawing up layoff lists. Rhee did not offer details but said the terminated employees as a group were "consistent with the overall demographic makeup of the staff."

Washington Teachers' Union president George Parker disputed Rhee's numbers and analysis. He said he had been informed by Deputy Chancellor Kaya Henderson that 266 teachers were terminated. He said early indications, based on calls he had received from teachers, were that the terminated group was predominantly "senior teachers over 50."

"It's a very disturbing pattern," Parker said. "Clearly, a lot of mistrust has been generated by this."

Rhee also faces questions about the fiscal justification for the layoffs. D.C. Council Chairman Vincent C. Gray, who contends that the dismissals are not necessary, announced Friday that he will hold hearings this month. "I'm convening this hearing so that we, as a community, can get to the bottom of these decisions," Gray (D) said in a statement.

Parker added that the turmoil created by the layoffs had deflected his attention from trying to reach a contract agreement with Rhee and the District. Talks have proceeded intermittently for almost two years, slowed by disputes over job security issues.

"Clearly, this has had some interruption," said Parker. "Our focus from a union standpoint is on the workforce and the students."

Asked whether Friday was her most difficult day as chancellor, Rhee said that it was hard to assess.

"Anytime you're dealing with a situation like this, it's difficult," she said.

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/10/02/AR2009100202289.html

City Council Regulates Medical Marijuana Dispensaries

More and more cities and counties are addressing these issues - DC approved some form of medical marijuana by citizen initiative but Congress prohibited DC from counting the votes. If those votes are ever counted, the issues in this article will be real here in DC.

Rules proposed for city's marijuana clinics

by Shane Benjamin
Herald Staff Writer

Article Last Updated; Tuesday, October 06, 2009 12:25AM

The Durango City Council will consider a new ordinance tonight that governs medicinal marijuana dispensaries in the city, including a rule that requires clinics to install an alarm system with video surveillance.

The proposed ordinance also addresses when, where and how marijuana providers can operate.

In August, Durango Police Chief David Felice raised concerns about the lack of regulation and oversight of dispensaries in the city. In response, the City Council approved an emergency ordinance temporarily suspending the issuance of business licenses to marijuana providers until guidelines could be drafted.

Coloradoans voted in 2000 to legalize medical marijuana, and dispensaries proliferated this year after the federal government announced it won’t perform raids on state-sanctioned businesses. There are four dispensaries in Durango – all of them opened this year.

The draft ordinance is largely a compromise between city staff members and marijuana providers, said City Manager Ron LeBlanc.

“The process was good,” he said. “I think it’s going to be a win-win all around.”

Under the proposed ordinance, dispensaries cannot be located within 500 feet of schools, day cares and public parks. They could operate in commercial districts, but not residential areas, including as home businesses.
Hours of operation would be limited to 8 a.m. to 8 p.m.

Dispensaries would be required to have an alarm system that notifies law enforcement if the business is burglarized. The alarm system must be equipped with video and voice surveillance.

Clinics that house prescription drugs have a similar requirement, LeBlanc said.

Likewise, inventory containing marijuana will need to be placed in a locked and secure safe while the business is closed.

Three of the four dispensaries contacted Monday said they have no problem with the security measures proposed in the ordinance, but some would have to make upgrades to be in compliance with the law.

Dispensaries would need to apply for a store-front sign through the Planning Commission. No exterior signage could use the words “marijuana,” “cannabis,” or any other word or phrase commonly understood to refer to marijuana.

That may come as bad news to Eric Gay, owner of Holistic Hemp LLC on Florida Road, who has a store-front sign but doesn’t use his office as a walk-in clinic.

“I don’t know if I would be grandfathered in,” he said. “I don’t plan on changing my business name.”
Other proposed rules include:

- No smoking of marijuana – even if obtained legally – within 15 feet of dispensaries.
- Dispensaries could not employ anyone younger than 18.
- All owners of dispensaries must undergo a criminal background check when seeking an application or renewal.

Nate Fete, manager of Nature’s Medicine, 129 E. 32nd St., said it’s a good ordinance so far.

“I thought we did a really good job of figuring out what would be best for the city of Durango,” he said.

Mark Busnardo, co-owner of Durango Healing Center, 473 E. College Drive, said he’s also OK with the proposed ordinance. But his business currently stays open until 9 p.m. Friday nights, so he might have to change his hours.

The purpose of the ordinance was to help residents and public officials better understand marijuana dispensaries and feel better about their legitimacy in the community, Busnardo said.

Gay, with Holistic Hemp, said it’s unfortunate an ordinance is needed, and people don’t understand the medicinal qualities of marijuana.

“I think there’s just a whole lot of fuss over this, and there shouldn’t be,” he said. “It’s safer than alcohol; it’s safer than most prescription drugs.”

shane@durangoherald.com

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http://durangoherald.com/sections/News/2009/10/06/Rules_proposed_for_citys_marijuana_clinics/