Hard to Believe

I am starting a new series here on The Batch' Blog called Hard to Believe, a blog series that will mention certain things I think are quite unbelievable in politics, on the internet, in the community, on television, etc. On March 13, 2011, this is what I believe is Hard to Believe.

Law and Order SVU: It's a Sunday, so I spent a considerable amount of time on the couch watching television (a break from the "keep going" mantra of Monday through Saturday). For the past 4 or 5 hours, I have been watching a Law and Order SVU marathon on the USA Network. I must admit, that episode after episode, I just have a hard time believing some of the plots of the episodes. From a 7 year old drug smuggler who accidentally shot one of his friends in daycare while trying to escape the grasp of his drug pimp to a former cop turned neighborhood watch captain who goes around the neighborhood murdering sex offenders, the plots just seem ridiculous. Now, don't get me wrong, I am very fond of Law and Order SVU, I just do not think I would go to work as a detective for the New York Police Department and be confronted with these outrageous cases. It's one thing to write plots that captivate your audience, but at least make them remotely believable.

ANC8C: I know I have already blogged about the decorum of monthly meetings of Advisory Neighborhood Commission 8C, but I think it's very hard to believe how bad it is until you actually go and witness, just as I did on March 2. The monotony of the meeting was comforting early on, as attendees complained about the irresponsibility of Pepco in the wake of the snow storms and planning for the return of the Martin Luther King Parade this April. Then comes the talk about the finances of the ANC and all "heck" breaks loose. Between one commissioner asking another to "sit down and shut up" and another angrily banging her fist and yelling "sit yo' $!? down", we can say the meeting heated up a little. So, you say to me "that is very hard to believe that elected government officials would act in such a way, especially in a public meeting". Well, you just have to go yourself.

Second Semester, Senior Year: If someone comes to you in the last half of their senior year and says "Well, it's all down-hill from here. I'm living on easy street", you should tell them it is very hard to believe. The last semester of Senior year is one of the most stressful, busy, time-consuming semesters of anyone's entire educational career. By the 3rd week of the 3rd quarter, College Acceptance letters are still weeks away, extra-curriculars are gearing up, projects are getting heavy, you have to apply for scholarships, AP exams are right around the corner, Final exams right after, Senior dues are....due, letters on report cards mean more than ever before and every day moves by a little slower. Second semester, senior year: UNbelievable.

That's what's hard to believe.

ANC 8C: Under-serving the Community

My friend over at Congress Heights on the Rise has already taken up this topic for years now, so I am obscenely late to the party, but I think its worth mentioning one more time:

Advisory Neighborhood Commission 8C is under-serving the community

I am a lifelong resident of SMD 8C-04 and recently got into investigating what was going on in my ANC, because in the 18 years I have been a resident and the over 45 years that my family have been residents, the quiet, African American middle class neighborhood that Congress Heights used to be has been on a steady decline.

Even though the neighborhood is reaping the benefits of new development and a new birth in retail and affordable housing in recent years, not much credit can go to the ANC. I am a big "bulletpoints and outline" kind of guy, so I want to outline some of the issues I have recognized with ANC8C.

Finances: It is no secret and a public disgrace that the DC Auditor's office did a review of the reports filed by the ANC and found that the commission was not properly or efficiently spending the yearly allotments and pledged to withhold over $20,000 from the ANC until it cleaned up its act.

In fact, the only expense that the ANC has made in nearly a decade has been to a dilapidated and shady ANC office above a barbershop on Martin Luther King Avenue, at a cost of $900 a month. For $900, it is definitely a very large and potentially useful space. However, a recent tour of the office has showed that paint is peeling, the bathrooms don't function, windows don't open and not even the phones work inside. The ANC does not even hold its monthly meetings there- it has been moved to a free space down the street for at least the past two years. To be so underused and run-down, it is not worth the $900 it is rented for.

Think about that: if that is the only expense, that means that ANC, in almost a decade, has not allotted money for grants to the community that are supposed to be used for community improvement! Not even supplies for the ANC have been purchased! But, at least we have that psychedelic shack we call an office, right?

The ANC also does not hire employees to deal with community issues, that would be helpful to residents and give some people a steady job, even though money can be set aside for that!

At a recent ANC meeting, one of the commissioners commented that money has not been spent because the ANC has never been able to reach a quorum in order to vote on expenditures. It just so happens that there was a clear quorum at the meeting she was speaking at and if there was no quorum to spend money, who authorized the monthly payments of rent at "Boo Radley's house"!

Link: ANC 8C's FY 2009 Report

Financially, ANC8C is under-serving the community.

Meetings: It is really appalling and unacceptable that ANC8C, over the past few years, have canceled and postponed meetings without proper public notice, leaving people outside waiting for canceled meetings to begin or rescheduled meetings lacking proper attendance by the public.

I am not sure what the reasons for these numerous reschedulings and cancellations are, but if it is necessary, the ANC needs to a do a much better job of notifying the public (but of course, the ANC has not set aside money to print fliers or set aside the time to make phone calls or emails).

Another issue, which was also mentioned in the Auditor's report (linked above), is that there is a major problem with chronic absenteeism by commissioners at ANC 8C monthly meetings, which is detrimental to the commission conducting proper business. If a quorum is not reached, business cannot be conducted. Commissioners need to be at meetings. That is what they were elected to do!

And let's not mention the terrible decorum that some commissioners have in meetings. There is rarely a meeting (if ever), where deliberation does not turn into a session of petty bickering or yelling matches. If commissioners cannot be civil, they should given their walking papers in November 2012.

When it comes to meetings, ANC 8C is under-serving the community.

Community Engagement: Though this pretty much covered in our previous sections, the community engagement of many of the commissioners in ANC 8C is terrible. As a personal example, I have emailed my new ANC commissioner in 8C04, Lloyd Logan, at least twice in the past month and have not gotten a response yet.

But as a unit, there is much to be desired from our ANC in 8C. The ANC office is locked, not used, has no phone and is broken down. Many commissioners do not have office hours and have not created any apparent means to keep in touch with constituency.

When it comes to community engagement, ANC 8C is under-serving the community.

In A Nutshell: ANC 8C is failing the community and it is time for a change. More soon...