I actually feel bad for Sulaimon. He's a giant flake, but the way he has been treated was humiliating.

by jcm on Feb 25, 2011 9:18 am • link • report

Does the DC ordinance really have a typo in it? Highlighted section: sports utility vehicle. Next paragraph: sport utility vehicle. See the City Paper article.

by ksu499 on Feb 25, 2011 9:19 am • link • report

1. Hilarious and sad about the law prohibiting SUVs. Bravo Carol Schwartz.

2. The piece about state DOT is also very good. The dangers of hypothecated taxes!

3. In terms of conflict of interest, it is only a conflict if Veolia is going to bid for something. But right now, as portrayed, it stinks.

by charlie on Feb 25, 2011 9:24 am • link • report

Actually, it's Bolt Bus that's closer to Union Station than MegaBus. I think this will be devastating for their ridership. N Capitol & K might as well be on the moon.

by Rich on Feb 25, 2011 9:27 am • link • report

Rich: Oops, fixed. That one was my fault.

by David Alpert on Feb 25, 2011 9:28 am • link • report

Going after state DOT's institutionally for focusing on roads is in itself a narrow minded argument. At the head administrator and cabinet level, most people have no idea how much effort is split between road, rail and ports. "Transportation" to most people is the selfish paradigm of how am I going to get from Point A to Point B. There is little thought the general public gives to the real duties of the DOT leaders.

by Lou on Feb 25, 2011 9:31 am • link • report

Why are these Alexandria cabi stations so much more expensive than the others? We've been told that cabi stations are 40-50K. These proposed are a min of 33% more per station. Seems a little weird.

by freely on Feb 25, 2011 9:33 am • link • report

Bring back Carol.

In other news, expanding Capital Bikeshare to Alexandria is a fantastic idea... too bad folks have to wait until September. Being able to grab a bike at King Street station and riding it east to the heart of Old Town would be fantastic. Often the mile is a little far to walk (especially when you're in a rush) but taking a cab or bus is often impractical. Bike share solves that problem immediately!

by Adam L on Feb 25, 2011 9:39 am • link • report

@Freely

The stations may be $40-50k, but how much do all the new bikes cost? In addition, the $400k is the amount Alexandria is seeking in the federal grant they submitted, which I am sure contains other overhead and planning costs beyond the direct cost of the equipment itself.

by Adam L on Feb 25, 2011 9:41 am • link • report

Um, can't the students just get different smarTrip cards to still enter the system? This idea seems like a bit of a waste...unless the real troublemakers are so stupid that they don't know they can enter the system with a paper farecard or non-student smarTrip...or am I missing something?

by Matt Glazewski on Feb 25, 2011 9:46 am • link • report

An alarming number of pedestrians are insane. Last night I had five people nonchalantly walk in front of me while I was driving. It was rainy so visibility was not great to begin with. Most of them were dressed in dark clothing. Why? Are they ninjas? No wonder so many of them get mowed down.

The worst was an eight year old and six year old who walked right in front of my car in the middle of the block (plenty of crosswalks at each corner, they were just lazy) as I was starting to move because the light ahead had just turned green.

Another was in an area with minimal street lights. The only reason I saw him from a distance was that his shoes were white. It isn't like this is unusual. It seems like everywhere people are meandering around in dark clothing just asking to be hit.

If the region wants to improve pedestrian safety, the first thing they should do is start educating the public. Sure, if I had hit any of these folks it would have been my fault, but would you rather be "in the right" and maimed or simply pay attention and not walk in front of cars that might not be able to see you? AAAAA!!!!!!!

by movement on Feb 25, 2011 9:46 am • link • report

I believe the station cost includes the cost of filling ~55% of the station's docks with bikes.

Of course, the cost varies tremendously based upon the size of the station. Of course, the 27-dock station at Nationals Park cost more than the 11-dock stations in Anacostia.

by andrew on Feb 25, 2011 9:47 am • link • report

@lou; not sure I understand your argument. Most people don't know what DOT does except clear roads in the winter. Most people also don't know what medicare, or any other government program, does either. Most people are stupid....

I wonder if you can view DOT as interest group capture when it comes to transit. Transit in most places is transport for poor people. The goal is to move it beyond that. (Of course, if it really middle class it might be able to charge a price for its service that breaks even. CaBi is an interesting example of that). So are they to focused on transit as movement for poor people, instead of looking at it as a more effective way of development and/or moving middle class people?

Look at it this way: if BoltBus can make money moving people to NYC that cheap, why can't Loudon Transit do the same with the buses?

by charlie on Feb 25, 2011 9:53 am • link • report

Is the new megabus lot really that far? Its I think 4 blocks from union station? If you have a lot of luggage sure its an annoyance but there are some airports where you'd walk just as far (or farther) with the same luggage.

by Canaan on Feb 25, 2011 9:58 am • link • report

Pedestrians in this city also for some reason don't seem to think the laws of physics apply to bicycles too, and will similarly look to see if anybody's coming, *see and acknowledge* the oncoming bicycle traveling at ~20mph, and the proceed to walk into the crosswalk against the signal anyway!

Again, I'd be "at fault," and wouldn't argue that. However, I also really don't want to kill any pedestrians. (Not to mention that a bike-ped collision probably wouldn't end well for *either* party involved).

Some other thoughts:
*I support CaBi in Alexandria. It's an absolutely fantastic system, and Old Town is a great place to deploy it. As a point of comparison, you can buy about 6 CaBi stations for the cost of a bus, and 37 for the cost of a single 7000-series railcar. Is Montgomery County also looking at implementing bikesharing?
*Student SmarTrip cards should carry the same restrictions as NYC's MetroCards.
*Have they made any progress on SmarTrip drivers licenses?
*The Sulaimon Brown incident was deeply embarrassing. That said, the guy never should have even made it into an interview, let alone be hired.
*It's becoming increasingly obvious that we need a new bus station.
*Construction on 18 & U is scheduled to start this weekend.

by andrew on Feb 25, 2011 9:59 am • link • report

@Matt Glazewski

Students certainly could purchase their own cards. But this would apply to cards provided at lower cost because they're students. Most of the juvi violence isn't because these kids have a well thought out plan. They're just seriously (and criminally) misbehaving on their way home from school or otherwise out and about.

This would be incredibly helpful for problems we have at Stadium-Armory. Kids heading home cause problems, jump on the Metro, and disappear. If we were able to identify which school they went to, we'd be able to follow up with that school and address the problem. Right now, each school denies it's their kids.

These kids uses anonymity to act out.

by TimK on Feb 25, 2011 10:05 am • link • report

@movement:

The worst was an eight year old and six year old who walked right in front of my car in the middle of the block (plenty of crosswalks at each corner, they were just lazy) as I was starting to move because the light ahead had just turned green.

Great example of how low we've sunk in this country. This is the reason you should be driving *very* slowly in the city at night. You don't need a Discovery Channel documentary to learn that *six* year olds do stupid things.

by oboe on Feb 25, 2011 10:11 am • link • report

You know, it's funny, during the Fenty years, I always pointed out that mini-scandals are an inescapable part of being in power. "No, no! Gray's going to restore clean government!"

Just never imagined the shit would hit the fan so quickly. Oh, well. At least competence is baked into the cake.

by oboe on Feb 25, 2011 10:14 am • link • report

This is interesting: Klein responds to the linked article in comments:

Hi DC Rez: Gabe Klein here, Ex-Director for DDOT. Feel free to look at the financials online. In fact, on the operating side, we came in $7m under budget, and that includes a $16m snow-magaddeon overrun and only $5m offset by the emergency fund. We also still gave almost $40 million back to the general fund. Pretty amazing.

http://dashboard.ddot.dc.gov/DTAPDOC/Other/Finance726904_Finance625297_KAFY11.pdf

On the capital side: DOT, the federal agency that oversees DDOT’s Federal Aid capital projects has agreed with all federal-aid eligible capital expenditures. No disapprovals from Council, and no outside audit findings on the local budget side for capital expenditures either. Fundamentally, and this has been an ongoing issue with the Council Budget Asst Director, the Gray Transition Team is applying a different philosophical view of capital expenditures, and what is appropriate to bill to the program which is their prerogative. But that has nothing to do with legality of prior practice and frankly, what is industry standard in 2011. In essence, they are sadly indicting the Gray team who has had Council oversight for the program for the past 4 years. What's also sad, is by trying to make these false indictments for personal reasons, it continues to preclude DC from maximizing federal funding and participation for competitive grants.

I hope this helps. It's a very, very complicated budget, but that's why there are 6 different checks and balances, outside audits, and an excellent resource management team at DDOT, as well as signoff by OCFO who reports to Congress. It cant get more stringent.

Oh, and letting previous Directors that ran the agency when it was last in the nation in just about every metric...run the transition? When it was spending 50% more than San Francisco for instance for horrible services for our constituents? No, that's obviously not the best way to do it. I just have to be honest here. It wasn't lack of $ btw, it was severe mismanagement across the government.

For those who forget what we used to deal with in the mid 90's, read these WaPo articles:
http://innercity.org/columbiaheights/newspaper/articles_1995_1997/mismanage1.html

http://innercity.org/columbiaheights/newspaper/articles_1995_1997/mismanage2.html
PT 2 has the service numbers as well.

NU78
February 24th, 2011
6:00 pm

http://www.washingtoncitypaper.com/blogs/looselips/2011/02/23/red-flags/#comment-14379

by oboe on Feb 25, 2011 10:17 am • link • report

@ jcm I agree the way S. Brown was treated is despicable and one more incident of unprofessional conduct in the mayors' office. Offering him the job was obviously viewed by the mayors' office as a mistake but the way they handled the mistake is just ..despicable. Thats all I can think to say of the way this man was treated.

S. Brown had at least one thing going for him that set a good example for others in the mayors' office and on city council: Brown, who denied a "confrontation," said the officers followed him to the garage of the office building on North Capitol Street, where he had parked his bike

by Tina on Feb 25, 2011 10:32 am • link • report

Rather sad that Michelle Rhee, who really cost Fenty the election, is out raising money for her new (lucrative) nonprofit, while Gabe is just making blog posts and having a mid-life beard crisis.

by charlie on Feb 25, 2011 10:32 am • link • report

>if BoltBus can make money moving people to NYC that cheap, why can't Loudon Transit do the same with the buses?

One reason is that Loudoun commuter buses have to dead-head 1/2 the time, while BoltBuses are generally full in both directions.

Loudoun bus daily schedule:
* Pick up morning commuters in Loudoun, drive to DC and drop them off.
* Drive empty back to Loudoun.
* Wait a few hours.
* Drive empty into DC.
* Pick up evening commuters in DC, drive to Loudoun and drop them off.
The same bus might make several trips each day, but 1/2 the time it's empty.

by BeyondDC on Feb 25, 2011 10:35 am • link • report

@ Student Smartrips

What about Virginia or Maryland students who don't have a curfew? Would they have they get their own cards?

by Andrew S on Feb 25, 2011 11:08 am • link • report

Rather sad that Michelle Rhee, who really cost Fenty the election, is out raising money for her new (lucrative) nonprofit, while Gabe is just making blog posts and having a mid-life beard crisis.

I liked Schools Chancellor Rhee. I do not like Nonprofit Public Speaker Rhee.

More specifically, I liked that Rhee actually got shit done when she was head of DCPS. I have very little confidence in the effectiveness (or even the motives) of her nonprofit.

Personally, I believe that there are very few common threads between failing school districts (other than apathy), and that each one requires a specific and individual plan to improve. Big national advocacy organizations are rarely able to communicate such nuance to people and politicians.

My fear is that many districts will cheer on Rhee, adopt fragments of her ideology, and then make very few substantive changes (while deluding themselves into believing that they're actually making things better).

This might be one of the reasons why I love Cory Booker. Sit down with the guy, and you hear nothing except for "Newark, Newark, Newark." He's focused on his city, and his residents. Toward the end of Rhee's tenure at DCPS, she became increasingly focused on national issues as well as building her own personal brand. Although national issues are indeed important, I think Rhee's focus on them began to distract from her obligations to DCPS (not to mention that she needlessly turned herself into a lightning rod for the any criticism of the Fenty administration)

by andrew on Feb 25, 2011 11:28 am • link • report

if BoltBus can make money moving people to NYC that cheap, why can't Loudon Transit do the same with the buses?

Also, because BoltBus offers an absolutely incredible value, thanks to the economics of driving to New York City. Gas and tolls for a one-way trip to NYC can easily run $50-$60 per car each way. Riding the bus is an obviously-good economic decision that takes you from the center of one densely-populated area to another (not to mention that many DC/NYC residents do not own cars, and parking in NYC is insanely expensive). Also, you can sit back, and not have to worry about the stressful 5-hour drive.

Contrast to Loudoun, which is only 2 hours away, where most people own cars, and the modest tolls can be easily avoided if desired. There's also no way that a $7 fare each way is going to be competitive to driving if you already own a car, which you basically need to if you live out that far. You can drive on the toll road, pay to park in DC, and still come out ahead of the $7 bus fare in many situations.

by andrew on Feb 25, 2011 11:35 am • link • report

@Andrew, unforatnley the two Rhee are the same person: a true self promotor -- rather than one interested in helping others. Whatever flaws Klein has you can't accuse him of that.

I think yu are mistaking the bolt bus vs. Loudoun transit issues with demand. Sure, BoltBus is a good value. But for the smaller market, so is Transit. So the issue may not be on the demand side, but rather on the costs....

Modest Tolls - I think it is over $14 now round trip?

by charlie on Feb 25, 2011 11:58 am • link • report

Gabe Klein needs to stick a mop in it!

Why is this dude blogging his defense? Forget about it! The people who didn't like Fenty (and you by default) could care less about your defense. Those who support you will care. Neither is important enough to lodge these ridiculous defenses. The only thing it does is keep you in a really bad place. Really really bad.

You are a former cabinet head not Sulaimon Brown. At least act like it.

You were and are not Jesus.

by HogWash on Feb 25, 2011 11:59 am • link • report

@oboe It has absolutely nothing to do with speed. If you can't see the person, it doesn't matter if you are going 5MPH or 50MPH.

by movement on Feb 25, 2011 12:08 pm • link • report

@Charlie

Oops. I completely misread the cost of driving on the Dulles Toll road. $5.25 each way is indeed a bit steep (read: insane) for a 28 mile road. That puts things into a bit of perspective. (VA & MD: This is why privatized roads are BAD)

@HogWash:
Gabe Klein is trying to defend his reputation, presumably so that he can get a job somewhere else. Gray's attacks on him were vicious and likely unfounded. The rebuttal has nothing to do with grandstanding, and everything to do with defending his professional reputation against libel (maybe he should hire Dan Snyder's lawyers?)

by andrew on Feb 25, 2011 12:12 pm • link • report

@andrew:
The cost of the Dulles Toll Road has nothing to do with privatization. The ICC will be more expensive, and it's publicly owned.

by Matt Johnson on Feb 25, 2011 12:14 pm • link • report

@ movement Yes, it does have to do with speed. If you hit someone at 5 mph you will probably not kill him. At 50 mph you probably will.

by jcm on Feb 25, 2011 12:17 pm • link • report

@andrew, charlie

Loudoun County Commuter Bus is probably a bad transit comparison to make - commuter buses are one of the more profitable forms of transit because they are the most full and are low-cost to operate. Loudoun County's commuter buses recover 83% of their operating costs through fares.

That said, andrew nailed the difference between these commuter buses and intercity buses like Bolt Bus. The commuter buses are at a disadvantage because they spend 1/2 of their time in non-revenue service, due to the fact that they have two specific peak times when they operate and they serve traffic going only in one direction.

by MLD on Feb 25, 2011 12:18 pm • link • report

@ MLD; thanks for the cost recovery figure.

Given that labor and fuel are probably larger expenses that their capital costs, why shouldn't commuter buses make money. Running twice a day is inefficient, but you can cut back on labor and more fuel charges. And those buses are leased, not owned...

by charlie on Feb 25, 2011 12:25 pm • link • report

@charlie

For the commuter buses, you have to spend more in capital and operating in order to carry the same number of people:

For a trip that's the same length (2 hours one-way), and 12 total trips per day (six each direction), the comparison is:

Commuter Bus: 6 buses, 6 operators
Each bus can only make one trip (since there isn't time to go back to the origin and pick up more people before rush ends). Then the driver has to drive someplace during the middle of the day to store the bus (since you can't just sit in the middle of the city all day) and then drive back into the city to pick people up at the end of the day.

Intercity Bus: 1 bus, 3-4 operators
One bus going back and forth can transport the same number of people as the six buses above, with 1/2 to 2/3 the labor costs.

I'm not sure where the commuter buses go during the day (RFK?), but your choices are basically: drive to an office somewhere where the operator might be able to do some kind of admin work for the agency, or drive to a parking lot and sit there. You can't just pay operators for two two-hour shifts each day - who would take that job?

by MLD on Feb 25, 2011 12:38 pm • link • report

@jcm I thought the objective was to prevent collisions with pedestrians, not to make collisions with pedestrians less deadly.

by movement on Feb 25, 2011 12:46 pm • link • report

@movement:

Must we choose?

by oboe on Feb 25, 2011 12:52 pm • link • report

@ MLD; but the cost recovery isn't including the cost of capital, and in any cases the buses are leased.

I understand your point about labor costs; granted if the pay was high enough you could find someone for a two hour shift.

But the math isn't working.

1 bus to NYC. 10 hours roundtrip. Maybe do that twice a day (20 hours a day). That is four bus loads of people, not the six in your example.

Now, at some point scalability kicks in; clearly Bolt is operating a LOT of buses, and there is a limit to how many a commuter bus system wants to operate.

And you're ignoring fuel, which is going to be way higher for a bolt-bus operation.

To tie in back to DOT -- something like a commuter bus might be better run as a private, for profit company. DOT's do think mostly of highways, rather than getting ways to utilize their resources better. Privatization deals mostly are about securitizing revenue streams, rather than saying how do I move more people for less money.

by charlie on Feb 25, 2011 12:53 pm • link • report

@Tina
>"Offering [Brown] the job was obviously viewed by the mayors' office as a mistake but the way they handled the mistake is just ..despicable."
The head of the Department of Health Care finance let go of S. Brown (perhaps because he wasn't a good fit for the position he was hired for) and S. Brown didn't take the news well. I don't see how that is 'despicable' behavior on the part of the mayors' office. Sure, he probably shouldn't have been hired in the first place, but assuming he wasn't a good fit for the position, wasn't it a good thing that he wasn't retained?

by DCster on Feb 25, 2011 1:01 pm • link • report

@ movement I think doing both would be a good thing, but if all you care about is reducing the number of collisions, speed still matters. The average stopping distance, in feet, including braking time and reaction can be found here. It doesn't go all the way down to 5, but at 10mph, the average car driver stops in 27 feet. At 50 mph, the same driver stops in 229 feet.

Looking at speeds that are more realistic, a driver at 25 mph stops in 85 feet, while a driver at 40 mph stops in 164 feet, nearly twice as far.

by jcm on Feb 25, 2011 1:05 pm • link • report

@Andrew "Gabe Klein is trying to defend his reputation, presumably so that he can get a job somewhere else. Gray's attacks on him were vicious and likely unfounded. The rebuttal has nothing to do with grandstanding, and everything to do with defending his professional reputation against libel (maybe he should hire Dan Snyder's lawyers?)

Sorry Andrew but the defense of Gabe doesn't fly. If he were really interested in getting another job, the facts of his tenure will speak loudly. Why? Because they're irrefutable. I'm not an HR expert but why would an employer, seeking to fill an executive level position, rely on a report produced by a mayor's (arguably political) transition report rather than an objective analysis of the facts? I don't know the answer but it would seem odd.

Moreover, would you please post to the quote from Gray highlighting what you perceive as vicious and likely unfounded? That'll help explain your position.

Thanks.

Either way, Klein still needs to get a life and stop sounding like a fool in fool's clothing.

by HogWash on Feb 25, 2011 1:09 pm • link • report

Irrefutable facts - like the transition report allegation that the DC streetcars are not ADA accessible, despite the fact that this is obviously untrue?

Sure. Those kinds of irrefutable facts.

by Alex B. on Feb 25, 2011 1:14 pm • link • report

@ movement By the way, I'm not criticizing you, or excusing idiot peds who risk their lives doing stupid things. I think many drivers, though, including myself for the first 20 years I drove, fail to understand just how much more dangerous to peds a car traveling 40 mph is than a car traveling 25 mph. That 15 mph is stark difference.

by jcm on Feb 25, 2011 1:18 pm • link • report

When I drive, I try not to exceed 20 mph on any surface street in DC. I find it makes everyone safer, *and* it irritates folks from MD and VA.

Everybody wins!

by oboe on Feb 25, 2011 1:21 pm • link • report

@charlie

I was trying to show you a comparison of similar trips on intercity vs. commuter bus and how the costs differ. It doesn't matter that NYC is a longer trip - the cost differences and the key problem of one-way rush vs. two-way constant travel is the same.

You're ignoring the fact that Bolt Bus charges 2.5-3.5 times as much fare as the commuter bus for a trip that is 2.5 times as long. Fuel costs are about the same on a per-person-mile basis for either operation, but are probably higher for commuter bus because they have to travel empty so much.

The labor problem still stands. That's because you have to pay the commuter bus driver a wage where someone will take the job, even though they're only driving people around for 4 hours a day. So even though the trip to NYC is longer, you don't need a proportional number of drivers more since they have the opportunity to work longer:
6 commuter bus trips requires 6 driver-shifts
6 intercity bus trips to NYC requires 12 driver-shifts, BUT the ticket price is more than 2X the commuter bus fare so they make money.

As andrew said, the commuter bus fare has to be low in order to make it compete with driving to work as an option for people who already own cars. Otherwise nobody would ride the commuter bus.

by MLD on Feb 25, 2011 1:23 pm • link • report

@AlexB, "Irrefutable facts - like the transition report allegation that the DC streetcars are not ADA accessible, despite the fact that this is obviously untrue? Sure. Those kinds of irrefutable facts.

Hey Alex, you probably should have left the emotion and poor defense of Klein for another subject because on this, you really make little sense.

If you notice in my post, I stated that if Klein was interested in getting another job, the facts of his tenure would speak for himself. Why? Because the facts of what actually happened during his time there ARE irrefutable.

And here you are mocking the "irrefutable" facts produced by the transition team. This is even after I added that the report is arguably political.

Dude, you're defending something that really didn't need defending.

by HogWash on Feb 25, 2011 1:38 pm • link • report

themselves

by HogWash on Feb 25, 2011 1:39 pm • link • report

Part of my point (which I failed to emphasize) is that I probably didn't go more than 30MPH for the length of the 3 mile trip. I had just started moving when the two kids stepped in front of me. Ninja-except-for-white-shoes-guy was in a crosswalk on the opposite side of the street from the stop sign I had just stopped at. The others were in Del Ray where going fast is never a good idea.

As for me, my usual speed is about 20 in areas with lots of pedestrians. Outside of those areas I think speed limits are silly and I typically am much more concerned with following / stopping distance. Knock on wood, but this approach has kept me from mowing down anyone to this point.

All I'm asking for is a little help from the pedestrians. If you are a ninja, please stay in the shadows instead of the roads - it is much harder for anyone to stumble upon you accidentally. If you are not a ninja, why are you dressing like one?

by movement on Feb 25, 2011 1:41 pm • link • report

@HogWash

So, your opinion is that the truth will come out, and misinformation should just be left to sit out there for all to soak in?

Uh, ok.

I'm sure that's exactly the approach you'd take if someone was out spreading misinformation about you and your job performance.

by Alex B. on Feb 25, 2011 1:43 pm • link • report

If the mayor accused me of gross incompetence and criminal (literally) mismanagement, I would most definitely defend myself. I'd like to think I'd choose better venue than the comments section of the city paper, though.

by jcm on Feb 25, 2011 1:47 pm • link • report

What's worse is that DDOT claims that Megabus and Boltbus picked their locations and that, from a third party, pretty much the entire downtown core of DC was off-limits and that the one suitable space is the one they've been evicted from. This will hand the NYC market Bolt & Mega have to the Chinatown lines and the lesser companies on a platter and put the big guys in a world of hurt.

I wouldn't be shocked if Megabus did zero due diligence on picking a stop, not only because they're now in a poorly-maintained, poorly-lit, distant-from-Metro stop in a debatable neighbourhood, but that the Greyhound terminal is two blocks away AND is closer to Metro. If their loads don't plummet, if passengers don't get robbed and assaulted at/near the stop, and/or if Greyhound doesn't start up express service to Philly, Pittsburgh, and North Carolina, I'll be shocked if Mega survives there long-term.

I have a feeling Boltbus will be fully at Union Station soon enough and Megabus will follow. K & North Capitol has far too many downsides to be a viable permanent stop.

by Jason on Feb 25, 2011 1:56 pm • link • report

@Alex, my opinion is that the truth is already there and that an employer seeking to hire Klein will rely on those truths before they would rely on a news article.

My comment was also in response to your assertion that Klein is doing this because he needs a job. My point then and now is somewhat cosigned by JCM. If defending himself is really a concern of his, a BLOG is not the best way to accomplish this. It most certainly isn't the best approach of a someone with senior executive experience.

Besides, Klein held a press conference to announce that he wasn't going to stick around. Can't imagine that he couldn't hold another one to defend the charges. This seems to be more about Klein loving hisself than defending. I mean, he is the only cabinet official who called a presser to announce his departure isn't he?

Ok, I could be wrong on that one. It may just be the only one I remember.

*Still waiting for a link to those vicious attacks Gray leveled against Klein* Thanks again.

by HogWash on Feb 25, 2011 2:06 pm • link • report

@HogWash

My comment was also in response to your assertion that Klein is doing this because he needs a job.

Where did I assert that? Please, show me.

by Alex B. on Feb 25, 2011 2:13 pm • link • report

@DCster-there is a direct connection to S. Browns job offer and mayors office. He was escorted out by police the same day he was told he lost his job. That is a terrible way to treat someone. They punished him for their own mistake. You will assert that he needed the escort. i can't dispute it, but neither you nor i really know. What I do know is that it looks really bad and reflects very badly on the mayors office.

by Tina on Feb 25, 2011 2:28 pm • link • report

Regarding the student cards one thing I have always wonder is why does DC not run a school bus system like other places ?

Why should parents/sometimes students pay to get to school because there are no schools in an area. That is a mistake of DC and the residents should not be the ones to deal with it, the city should be paying for it.

Most of DC is not within walking distance to a junior high or high school so why should residents be forced to provide transportation when they should have neighbourhood schools or atleast within 2 miles walking distance.

by kk on Feb 25, 2011 2:32 pm • link • report

Yep, you're correct. I'm confusing "A's" here. It was Andrew who suggested this not Alex. You just happened to the one who responded w/another Defense of Klein.

See how easy it is to admit error?

by HogWash on Feb 25, 2011 2:36 pm • link • report

@kk DC doesn't provide dedicated transportation for students because we have a transit system that gets students from where they live to where they go to school. We don't need to run another one. Taxpayers support reduced transit fares for students instead a dedicated bus system.

Since system wide school choice is the model in DC kids simply are not likely to be walking distances from schools for their whole education. Also, given some of the economies of scale for middle and high school, I question the wisdom of having one within 2 miles of every child's residence.

by Kate on Feb 25, 2011 4:16 pm • link • report

@Tina,
If the DCHF had not fired Brown, people would complain that he was continuing to receive a government salary for a job he wasn't suited for. When DCHF did fire Brown, it supposedly looks bad for the mayor (even though DCHF's decision seems to have been the right one). I just don't see the justification for blaming the mayor's office for a tough decision taken by the DCHF.

by DCster on Feb 25, 2011 4:23 pm • link • report

@ Kate

Okay, I will give you that however it does not exclude the location of schools within DC. For example some schools are very close to each other while others are not.

Dunbar, MM Washington (now closed) & McKinley
Bell, Cardozo, & Banneker
Eastern & Spingarn
School W/out Walls & Ellington

All in walking distance of each other while other areas dont have schools no where near them.

SW/SE North of Anacostia River, south of Penn Ave.
Everything east of eastbound Red line tracks north of Spingarn
All areas near Ft Dupont Park in every direction
Some areas west of Rock Creek

I have a map of DC which plots where every current and former DC Public School, DC Library, DMV location, Post Office, etc and you can see there are large areas which are undeserved or not served at all with many services not just schools.

There is no reason some areas need 3 schools in a 1-3 square mile area while others have to travel longer distances or cross geographic barriers (rivers)

by kk on Feb 25, 2011 8:37 pm • link • report

@kk I'm sure there are inequities in the way services are located. However, I'm not sure how that equates to DC needing to run school buses especially for middle and high school students unless there are not adequate transit routes between their schools and their homes. And even then better/more transit would probably serve more people.

by Kate on Feb 25, 2011 8:49 pm • link • report

@DCSter. I'm not saying he should not have been "let go". Its they way it went down that is so awful.

by Tina on Feb 25, 2011 9:10 pm • link • report