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...

Old Congress Heights School: Rich (Personal) Past and Bright Future

Tonight, my mother and I stopped by the monthly meeting of the Congress Heights Civic Association for a very special reason.

The association met today with a representative from the DC African American Heritage Trail, who is now in the process of selected about 13 new landmarks across the District of Columbia to add to the trail and make it complete. It so happens to be that one of the landmarks that will be added to the trail sometime this summer is the Old Congress Heights School, a landmark in the neighborhood since it opened in 1897. For a long time, it served an all White community, but after the desegregation of the school in the mid 1950's, the large African American community began to grow.

After many years of disrepair, the school closed in 1970 and was left virtually abandoned on Martin Luther King Avenue, with its massive African American student body moving across the street to the New Congress Heights School, now known as Martin Luther King Elementary School (my Alma Mater).

This month, the building reopened after renovation and is now home to Imagine Southeast Public Charter School. For the first time in 41 years, the Old Congress Heights School is hosting Elementary School classes within its walls.

As the school and its new occupants look toward a bright future, the members of the Congress Heights Community Association looked back at its interesting past, shedding light on the rich history it provided for African Americans- even to my family. My mother brought with her to the meeting a class photo from the Old Congress Heights School from May 1969 (with my aunt smiling brightly on the front lawn of the school). Both my mother and my eldest aunt attended the old Congress Heights School just years before it closed its doors. A Washington Post article that was also brought to the meeting, dated September 1970, shows my youngest aunt marching across the street from the old school into the new school on the first day of the 1970-1971 School year.

History flowed at the meeting tonight with the room filled with 50-60 year residents of Congress Heights not only talking about the history of the iconic school building, but reminiscing about the rich past of the neighborhood itself. For the first time in four decades, you can view the iconic clock tower aglow while driving through Congress Heights at night, a sign that the landmark is coming back to life for yet another generation to enjoy.

The heritage trail plaque is set to be dedicated at the building in August, but no official date has been set yet.

Uniontown Bar and Grill: New Addition to the "New River East"

Uniontown Bar and Grill has been open a few weeks and is the buzz around Ward 8. I got a chance to stop by Uniontown this past weekend with a few friends and thought that I should post a quick review about what I thought about my first visit to this new addition to the "New River East".

Menu: The menu and selectivity is very limited at Uniontown, but I was very satisfied with what I got. My "Louisianna Wings and Crinkle-cut fries" were not mind-blowing, but definitely was a good eat and I will definitely go back for it again. Apparently, according to my companions at dinner, the rest of the menu is "to die for", so I might abandon my new-found "usual" and try something else.

Service: Great. Our waiter checked in with us periodically, no mistakes on orders and helped us "first time Uniontowners" make good choices. Also, it was nice to see the owner venture over to our table to say hello. Also the food came in a good amount of time (maybe 10 minutes).

Price: The phrase "bang for your buck" can definitely be used to describe Uniontown. My 10-piece wings (about 10; I can't remember), crinkle cut fries and root beer came out only to about $9.00. I got enough food for the right price.

Ambiance: Uniontown is definitely a very relaxed place to be. Seating is pretty comfortable and two flat screen TV's are a plus (and definitely served their purpose on Super Bowl Sunday I imagine). It is becoming a gathering place for community professionals and its very central and picturesque location across the street from the Big Chair makes it a "must-go" location (at least, right now). The only thing I didn't enjoy was that the front doors don't have hydrolics on them to automatically close, so when people walked out and forgot to close the door, I got a pretty terrible draft.

Uniontown Bar and Grill not only sybolizes fairly good food, pricing and ambiance, but symbolizes a turning point in Ward 8 and Anacostia. A new day is dawning East of the River, and I felt the massive positive change at Uniontown this weekend.

7 Ways the Internet is Ruining Your Life

A few days back, in my previous blog, I praised the internet for how it is revolutionizing the way we communicate and changing the world at a faster pace that ever before. Despite the title of this blog, this premise still does rung true.

However, the internet is not all peaches and creme (or "all facebooks and twitters".) Though the world might be better connected and more productive, the individual is becoming more disconnected and lazy as a consequence of this new digital age we are immersed in.

I ready this very humorous article the other day called "7 Ways the Internet Is Ruining Your Life" on a slightly inappropriate college humor website. But, it did bring up some very good points. The 7 ways that the internet is ruining ours lives are:

1. It's making you stupid
2. It's warping your sense of reality
3. It's ruining your social skills
4. It's making you fat
5. It's turning you into a douchebag
6. It's stealing your privacy
7. It's making you boring

All of these I see as (at least partly) true. Here are my personal responses to each.

1. Even though the internet is an endless source of knowledge and a very accessible point of reference, the way it is being used by our generation is taking our focus away from the knowledge we need and is connecting us to pointless Youtube videos and the "this is what I am doing right at this very second" updates on Facebook and Twitter. We can be using these resources so much better, but there are so many pointless distractions at one click that our brains are suffering.
2. When we are on the internet, we are in a whole different world. On the internet, we can be brave, popular, handsome and carefree while on the outside, we are friendless, war rages and our house is about to be foreclosed on. We are separated from the pressing issues of our lives and of the world and when that happens, we become useless to our families, friends and to the world.
3. Having social skills are developed through interaction with living, breathing people. With the internet, we could interact with thousands of people each day and never actually interact with anyone. In the Facebook and Twitter age, we can be so distant from people that we lack the necessary skills to interact away from our computer screens.
4. Not moving = increased weight. Plain and simple. Get up and get your 60 minutes a day!
5. The internet gives us the opportunity to speak anonymously and to speak without consequence. If we take advantage of this luxury too much, we forget how to turn it off in the real world. We lose the capacity to censor ourselves when appropriate and we submit ourselves to the consequences that come with it. Saying whatever we want, whenever we want to people does not make you independent, fearless or confident: it makes you a jerk.
6. What happens on the internet, stays ON the internet. The internet knows no confidentiality. I have been a user on the internet for maybe 5 or 6 years now, and everything I have done on the internet is neatly organized in a simple Google search. Thankfully, I am a pretty straight-edged young guy, so whatever you find is neither heinous or life-ruining, but for those who like to take shirtless photos on Facebook, picture of you and your friends drinking and post statuses that have more four-letter words than late-night Comedy Central, you might have a problem.
7. For those who can only develop conversation about yesterday's Facebook statuses, quote Youtube videos or teach me how to illegally download the new Lil Wayne album are...boring.

So, I would have to concur: the internet has many benefits, but when used to excess, it can be dangerous to your health.

The Power of the Internet

In my advanced computer applications a few days ago, we watched a video about the vast impact new technologies and the internet has on the world and how quickly the world is changing, faster than at any time before.

The video presented some really great (and mind-blowing) facts about the exponential changes going on in the world right now. For example, (Did You Know that) the most in-demand jobs of 2010 didn't even exist in 2004, and while it took the television 13 years to broaden its user base to 50 million people, it only took Facebook 2 years to do it? The way that information and technology is growing is astounding.

Schools are now preparing students for jobs that don't even exist yet and preparing them to solve problems that aren't problems yet. Half the curriculum that a college student who majors in some sort of technologically-geared field learns will be outdated by his third year in college.

The world is moving and changing at such a fast pace now due to technology, like the internet, that the world has to prepare for obstacles and opportunities that have not even presented themselves yet.

The internet has changed the world so dramatically just within the last five or six years and has dramatically changed the way we find news, communicate, work and even wage war! The changes show no signs of stopping, and the changes will only come faster as time passes and technology grows.

Is the Real HU for Me?

For the past few weeks, I have been trying to chart my path for the future, especially as it pertains to college. It seems a bit early, since college decisions do not come until probably March or April. However, I have gotten one acceptance letter so far that has spurred my thoughts and made my decision much harder: Howard University.

Howard University is unique and appealing to me for many reasons:

1. It is the only HBCU I have applied to.
2. Its rich legacy and inspirational alumni (including Justice Thurgood Marshall, the namesake of my high school) makes my attendance and my experience that much more fulfilling.
3. The students I have met so far that will be apart of the Class of 2015 are intelligent, friendly and open-minded, and also would be very good friends and classmates.
4. Current students are very excited about the arrival of new students and about sharing the legacy and experiences of Howard University.
5. I have been offered full tuition and fees

Howard University is ready and waiting for new students like me to contribute to the rich history that the institution has.

So "What's the problem?", you ask.

I have talked to many people about some of the reservations I have about Howard University, including the outdated facilities, the sometimes frustrating and under-performing administration (with financial aid, housing, etc. Read the article.) and the freshman housing experience (a.k.a. Drew Hall- Read this article, even though this is a little outdated, I have heard some of the same sentiments recently). Though there are signs that these issues might be slowly being corrected, these also might be an unwanted burden that could take away from the whole experience.

Update (1/30/11- 4:50pm): Howard University Administration approves a plan for an academic and infrastructural renewal for Howard University- Read here.

Also, what if I am accepted to somewhere like Harvard University (which I have applied to), that would give me the credibility and notoriety in my future, but not necessarily the unique and unforgettable experiences I know I will get from the first second on Howard's campus?

So, I need your opinions! Is the Real HU for MB? Comment NOW!

Unrest Presses On as Internet Goes Out in Egypt

Just like yawning and the flu, uprising and unrest is contagious in the Middle East.

After weeks, even months, of unrest in Middle Eastern countries across the world, it is now the Arab world's most populous country's turn: Egypt.

Gaining inspiration more recently from the successful ousting of the corrupt Tunisian President Zine el-Abidine Ben Ali two weeks ago, the Arab world has been fired up and become fearless in taking on corrupt and dictatorial regimes.

The nearly 30-year reign of Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak is no exception.

After days of protests in numerous regions across the country, President Mubarak has sent troops into the streets to regain order as police struggle to keep control of the growing throngs of protesters (video). However, for the embattled government in threat of toppling like its Tunisian counterpart two weeks ago, destroying the efforts for protesters to organize at all is top priority.

About a half hour past midnight today, all (yes, ALL) internet service was severed in Egypt, cutting the protesters off from their main source of organization and communication. Just like other citizens' uprisings across the Middle East in the past 5 years or so, social networking such as Facebook and Twitter have been used to organize groups in protest and in uprising against the government.

Just like Iran and China, internet has played an integral role in protests similar to the one in Egypt, and just like Egypt, Iran and China have attempted to cut off these protests by cutting off the internet. However, despite the cutoff, the protesters are still organizing and taking to the streets in Egypt, so an end to the unrest cannot be seen as of yet.

I believe that Egypt is on the brink of reform whether President Mubarak is sent packing or not (even though I think it's inevitable at this point). The unrest is destined to continue in the country and throughout the region as long as the citizens are dissatisfied with their autonomous, corrupt governments.

However, this particular uprising does put the United States in a very awkward position. Because Egypt is the gateway to the Arab world, an ally of Israel and of the United States, it is hard to say what will happen in the next few weeks. It is very possible that if the government is overwhelmingly in threat of toppling in the next few weeks, Egypt may ask its Western allies for assistance in suppressing the uprising, which puts the U.S. at center-stage in this conflict.

So, Comment Now: What do you think of the uprising in Egypt and should the United States take any action is asked to do so?