Beltway Area Indymedia

Mayor Fenty has announced "Operation Fixit" in which teams from all city agencies from trash collection to code enforcement will descend upon a single block, address-or entire neighborhood. Assesing fines against landlords is to be part of this operation.

The operation aims to show city residents that "change is possible" but what KIND of change? Rat, trash, and roach contgrol are one thing, but on Pacifica Headline news it was announced that "many neighbors are fed up whose owners are negligent, allowing trash to pile up, buildings to run down, and TENANTS TO RUN AMUCK!

Mayor Fenty and police chief Lanier have unveiled their summer "crime-fighting" strategy: Zero tolerance policing, apparently based on "Guiliani time" in New York City! On the weekend of June 8-10, a police blitz produced well over 500 arrests, including 130 for prostitution and anothyer huge number for panhandling.

Although the double-overtime police shifts that were an integral part of this blitz is unsustainable, telling cops to make as many arrests as possible on any possible charges is another story.

DC Attorney General Linda Singer, in yet another step by the Fenty administration to prevent community input into his 'School Takeover Plan', asked the DC Superior Court to overturn the May 22nd decision of DC's Board of Elections and Ethics to lawfully allow the process for Mary Spencer's proposed referendum measure to continue. The case was assigned to DC Superior Court Judge Superior Court Judge Lynn Leibovitz. The referendum measure would suspend Titles I, IX and X of the DC Public Education 'Reform Act of 2007', stopping the Fenty administration, that seems to have an insatiable desire for the consolidation of power, from transferring control of DC Public Schools from the elected Board of Education to himself and the DC City Council. Many opponents of Mr. Fenty's plan fear that his plan will not benefit the children of DC, as it will lead to the proliferation of charter schools, which continue to drain money from DCPS, and not provide children with educational opportunities. Many also fear that what Mr. Fenty, and others with an interest in the real estate used by the DC Public School System (including Mr. Plagairism himself, Victor Reinoso), truly seek is not educational reform, but control of real estate.

On Tuesday, May 22nd, at 441 4th St NW, the DC Board of Elections and Ethics ruled that the referendum measure proposed by DCPS grandmother, and graduate, Mary Spencer was proper subject matter to be considered for a referendum. Ms. Spencer's proposed referendum would suspend Titles I, IX and X of the DC Public Education 'Reform' Act of 2007 (Mayor Fenty's School Takeover Bill), which would stop the power hungry Mayor Fenty from taking away the powers of the elected Board of Education.

Efforts to allow for community input, by way of a referendum measure, on the mayoral takeover plan of DC Public Schools (DCPS), were met with yet another delay today. Today's hearing, on Tuesday, May 8th, was originally intended to judge whether or not the subject matter of Mary Spencer's referendum proposal was appropriate for a referendum by law. Referendum proposer Mary Spencer, a DCPS graduate, and grandmother of children in DC Public Schools, was forced to temporarily withdraw her referendum proposal, in order to make absolutely sure that it met technical requirements of a referendum proposal. Due to several challenges made by the DC Office of the Attorney General, and by Brian Flowers, the General Counsel for the DC City Council, Ms. Spencer, with the threat of any community consent process (for the legislation) being excluded altogether, will be amending her referendum proposal to include only Titles I, IX, and X of the Mayor's DC Public Education Reform Act of 2007 (despite much public oppositon, attempted injunctions, and protests, the controversial legislation was passed by the DC City Council on April 19, 2007).

Earlier today, the DC City Council ruled in favor of both the Human Pappiloma Virus (HPV) Vaccine Bill and the Education Reform Act (School Takeover) Bill. Community members showed up to voice their opposition to the undemocratic plans being forced on the residents of the District of Columbia.

(Audio: 7 min 28 seconds, including interviews with a Temple Courts resident and a Ward 4 resident)

Thousands of DC residents marched on April 16 to demand that DC residents get a vote in Congress. At this event, however,Mayor Fenty got an unpleasant suprise from residents of the besieged Temple Courts community, and from opponents of his school takeover plan.

Request for Injunction to Stop Mayoral Takeover Plan of DC Public Schools Denied

On Monday, April 2nd, in DC Superior Court, Senior Judge Bruce S. Mencher denied the request of Ward 4 Council candidate Lisa Comfort-Bradford, seeking a temporary restraining order to stop the DC City Council from voting on the mayoral takeover plan of DC Public Schools.

Another mayor, another STADIUM! Mayor Fenty is planning to meet with Washington football team owner Dan Snyder about what "incentives" it would take to get him to move the team back to DC.
(Audio 2 min 35 seconds-vocals mostly sung not spoken)

Fenty_Football_Stadium_whats_he_smoking.mp3 (2436 k)
Since Snyder says in public that he intends to "honor his 30 year committment" with PG County, this means it would certainly take a publicly funded stadium and massive giveaways(aka "incentives") to get him to leave near-new FedEx Field and move to a new stadium inside the city.

On March 13, over 60 'Friends of Fenty', trade unionists, teachers, parents, religious leaders, school children and community activists converged on the home of Mayor Adrian Fenty (4712 17th St NW) to express opposition to his plan to take over the schools and undermine home rule. Wards 4 and 7 remain without a voice in the city council until May 15, when the seats will be filled with a special election.