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Commentary: D.C. Shouldn't Shoulder The Burden Of Cleaner Water Alone

WAMU 88.5 - American University Radio — Wed, 23 May 2012 14:30:26 -0400

Carol O'Cleireacain, a non-resident Senior Fellow at the Brookings Institution.

Right now, when a big rainstorm hits D.C., the sewer system is overwhelmed, and raw sewage flows right into our waterways and then on to the Chesapeake Bay. Older parts of the city have pipes carrying both storm water and sewage — a legacy of the federal government, which ran the system until the 1970s.

Under a consent decree with the Environmental Protection Agency, D.C. Water has begun the Clean Rivers Project, building huge underground tunnels to store the storm water and raw sewage until it can be sent for treatment. The project will cost $2.6 billion through 2025 and will virtually eliminate sewage discharge into Rock Creek and the Anacostia and Potomac rivers.

No one can doubt how important this is, or how much cleaner water benefits the city and the entire region. The question is, can we create a fair and efficient way to pay for it? DC Water is financing the project through long-term bonds, which are paid back from fees customers will have to pay. The federal government has supported the project, but future contributions are not predictable.

Even with D.C. Water's smart management, the financing of this project raises some concerns.

The present approach puts the burden on District residents and property owners. Loading all of the costs on them could be risky. Projections show water and sewer bills will increase sharply. They will grow much faster than income; and, for the District s poorest residents, more than double as a share of their income.

We need, instead, to get all those who benefit from the region's cleaner water to pay a fair share. That includes the suburbs and the federal government. Quite simply, the current, fragmented, efforts do not match the scale of the problem.

We need DC Water and the Metropolitan Washington Council of Governments to bring together the federal government, the District, the states of Maryland and Virginia and their local jurisdictions to sort out a more rational system to pay for improved water quality. No one wants the Chesapeake Bay clean-up to fail.

Carol O'Cleireacain is the author of a new Brookings Institution report about DC Water. Her commentary came to us through WAMU's Public Insight Network. It's a way for people to share their stories with us and for us to reach out for input on upcoming stories. Learn more about the Public Insight Network, and contribute your own commentary.

From "Running with Scissors" to Self-Help

WAMU 88.5 - American University Radio — Wed, 09 May 2012 09:32:00 -0400

Augusten Burroughs is known for writing memoirs -- including "Running with Scissors" and "Dry" -- that unflinchingly and meticulously detail his unconventional childhood and struggles with alcoholism. Now, Burroughs is moving into another, perhaps unexpected, realm: self-help. He simultaneously criticizes and contributes to the $11 billion industry with his latest book "This is How."

Commentary: D.C. Students Need International Perspectives

WAMU 88.5 - American University Radio — Thu, 15 Mar 2012 16:46:48 -0400

Eddie Mandhry, who directs the Washington program for the nonprofit Global Kids. (Photo by Joe Delano)

Many of us in D.C. never forget our role in the world. It's there every time I walk by the World Bank, drive down Embassy Row, or get trapped behind security when a foreign dignitary is arriving.

As a Kenyan of Ethiopian and Omani heritage educated around the world, I have always valued the opportunity to interact with different cultures, people and languages.

Yet, for young people who live in Southeast D.C., these international perspectives don't exist. They see very little business activity, let alone flags from around the world, and there are serious consequences.

The European Journal of Communication asked people in Britain, Denmark, Finland, and the U.S. to answer questions on international affairs. The British, Danes and Finns all scored in the high 60s to mid 70s when they were asked to identify the Taliban. Only 58 percent of Americans managed to do the same, even though the U.S. is leading the coalition in Afghanistan.

These results are more troubling when you realize that the parts of the U.S. government involved in international affairs lack diversity at the top. Hispanic Americans make up 15 percent of the U.S. population, but they only hold 6 percent of the officer positions in the military. The State Department and other parts of the foreign affairs corps also need to look more like America.

Changing this will take new approaches. Drilling factoids into the minds of young people will turn them off. More testing is not the answer. We need to bring international affairs to life for students. We can do this through role playing, where they take part in simulated world situations and imagine how they would solve the issue. We can educate them about current dilemmas and have them find a solution for adults to consider. A spark will be lit and students' young minds will race from topic to topic as they seek greater understanding.

We can also encourage more online learning and blend it with traditional classroom instruction. Imagine what understanding could occur if a teenager in Ward 7 or 8 was able to Skype with an Afghan teen in Kabul.

Imagine if we told students that even if they don't want to be Secretary of State, the U.S. entertainment and gaming industries are increasingly dependent on foreign tastes and purchases.

The modern Silk Road is being formed -- let's make sure all of D.C. is a part of it.

Eddie Mandhry directs the Washington Program for Global Kids. His commentary came to us through WAMU's Public Insight Network. It's a way for people to share their stories with us and for us to reach out for input on upcoming stories. Learn more about the Public Insight Network.

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Commentary: Mental Health Of D.C. Youth Needs To Be Priority

WAMU 88.5 - American University Radio — Tue, 06 Mar 2012 20:50:25 -0500

Judith Sandalow, Executive Director of the Children's Law Center in Washington

Health care can be the difference between life and death. I'm not talking about a surgeon performing quadruple bypass. I mean mental health services such as therapy, counseling, and medication. Because mental health problems can be just as life threatening as an aggressive cancer.

They almost killed one D.C. teenager named Jay. When he was 11 years old, Jay was the victim of a drive-by shooting. A bullet lodged in his spine and landed him in a wheelchair. The doctors took care of Jay's physical injury, but no one thought about the effect of the shooting on his mental health -- until he was 15 and tried to commit suicide.

Jay is not alone. The human and financial cost of not treating mental health disorders is staggering. Nationally, 67 percent of young people in the juvenile justice system have a diagnosable mental health disorder. Last year, 66 percent of children entering foster care in the District were found to have mental health needs. And last year, more than 200 children were sent to residential programs as far away as Texas because D.C. couldn't provide intensive in-home support.

Jay was lucky he finally got help. Despite suffering trauma of all kinds, from witnessing drive by shootings to being the victims of child abuse, literally thousands of the District's children never get needed mental health services, a failure documented by the District itself in study after study.

Councilmember David Catania's proposed legislation, the South Capitol Street Tragedy Memorial bill, has received a lot of media attention because it too is inspired by an extreme case: the shooting of five young people. The bill is a positive beginning. It would require more screening of at-risk children and training for teachers and day care workers to identify mental health needs early.

But screening is not enough. Screening is for mental health what an x-ray is for physical health. The x-ray shows you that a bone is broken. But you need a doctor to set the break, a cast to hold it in place, and follow-up visits to make sure the bone is healing properly. It's the same thing in mental health. A screening shows what problems a child has, but then the child needs the right kind of treatment for that child's specific problem. Otherwise the emotional wound festers rather than heals.

The District needs to move beyond screening to create services that meet the needs of our children. And we need to ensure that the services are of good quality and provided in a timely manner.

Tomorrow is the D.C. Council oversight hearing for the Department of Mental Health. Steve Baron, the department's director, should receive recognition for bringing to an end the 37-year class action law suit focused on adult mental health as well as for starting many important pilot programs for children. It is time for the Mayor and the D.C. Council to fully fund these children's programs. Our community pays a high premium for a failed children's mental health system. It costs us in terms of police resources, juvenile detention, foster care and full-time special education programs for example. A smart investment in preventive mental health services will save money and keep our children and our community safe.

Judith Sandalow is the executive director of the Children's Law Center in Washington.

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Commentary: Efforts To Boost D.C. Jobs Suffer For Lack Of Information

WAMU 88.5 - American University Radio — Thu, 01 Mar 2012 19:08:35 -0500

Marina Streznewksi, Executive Director for the D.C. Jobs Council

How do you make a good decision without good information?

You probably don't.

While some good decisions can be made with intuition alone, they are few and far between. Most good decisions require good information -- and good data -- especially when a choice involves spending a lot of money.

That is a major, but often invisible, obstacle to the District's efforts to promote economic opportunity for residents. The city simply does not have the data needed to assess how well we are investing in job training, adult education, and economic development.

The District government supports many programs to improve the skills and work-readiness of its residents. It also spends money to attract and retain businesses. Yet how many of us can determine if these programs work? Are residents increasing their skills or getting jobs? Are employers finding good-quality staff? And just how many good jobs did that economic development project generate?

Without information, we can't tell what's working, what's not working, or how we can improve. All we have are statistics on unemployment and poverty and a lot of very sincere assurances that people are working very hard on the problem.

That's not good enough.

The District needs to dramatically improve its ability to generate, use and share data to track progress. And to create real change, we must embrace necessarily disruptive acts that will require political will and stamina.

First, we must agree on core performance measures for education and training programs, making sure not to penalize those who serve residents with serious barriers to employment.
Second, we need to plan and budget to help government agencies, contractors and grantees collect and use data, assess themselves against performance standards, and carry out quality improvement efforts.
Third, we need to use performance data to make funding decisions. Programs that cannot demonstrate effectiveness or quality improvement plans should not be funded.

These ideas should also apply to philanthropic funds. Public and private funders should work together to streamline reporting requirements.

We are not suggesting this effort will be quick or easy. But by investing in a concerted effort to improve data systems and shift to an evidence-based culture, District leaders can leave a legacy of economic opportunity.

Information is power. Let's harness that power to make this a better city that offers opportunity to all residents.

Marina Streznewksi is the executive director of the D.C. Jobs Council. "

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Commentary: Maryland's Energy Consumption

WAMU 88.5 - American University Radio — Sun, 19 Feb 2012 10:07:34 -0500

Commentator Mike Tidwell, director of the Chesapeake Climate Action Network, says it's time for Maryland state legislators to take action on bills designed to minimize the environmental impact of energy consumption.

You know the saying: Everyone talks about the weather but no one, well, does anything.

In early February, daffodils and more than a few cherry trees were blooming in D.C. neighborhoods just after scientists told us that 2011 was one of the warmest years ever recorded. The trends of weird weather and climate change are accelerating here and worldwide.

But while Congress remains in gridlock, many leaders in Maryland's General Assembly actually want to do something. Gov. Martin O'Malley has reintroduced an offshore wind bill that would help the state reduce its use of planet-warming coal. A researcher from Boston University estimates the project O'Malley is proposing could save more than 300 lives and nearly $2 billion in health costs in 20 years.

In a recent Gonzales poll for the National Wildlife Federation, 62 percent of registered Maryland voters surveyed said they would be willing to invest in these 21st century ocean-based wind mills, even if it brings a very slight rise in power bills. The Maryland state Senate and House have begun debates this month.

Meanwhile, Del. Heather Mizeur of Montgomery County has introduced a bill that would, for the first time in Maryland, take a serious look at the global warming impacts of the controversial natural gas drilling method called hydraulic fracking. Turns out fracking in Western Maryland could do more than just make people's drinking water flammable. New evidence suggests the drilling method vents significant amounts of methane gas into the atmosphere, adding to global warming. Mizeur's bill would fund studies to determine the full impacts of fracking before Maryland permits the practice here.

Of course, some people wonder what a small state like Maryland can really do to fight a global crisis like climate change. Building windmills to our east and banning fracking to our west are not, by themselves, going to stem global sea-level rise or tame bigger hurricanes. But Maryland, D.C. and Virginia are overwhelmingly vulnerable to those storms and to that sea-level rise. If we don't start kicking our own climate-altering fossil fuel addiction, why should any other state or country?

The time for talking is over. It's time for doing.

Mike Tidwell is the director of the Chesapeake Climate Action Network.

Metro Workers Need Better Safety Measures

WAMU 88.5 - American University Radio — Mon, 23 Jan 2012 15:03:09 -0500

Jackie Jeter, the Amalgamated Transit Union local 689

Around 2 million American workers are victims of workplace violence each year, according to the federal Occupational Safety and Health Administration, and Metrobus operators are among those victims. Metro says 42 bus operators were physically assaulted in the first three quarters of 2011. Commentator Jackie Jeter, president of the Amalgamated Transit Union local 689, which represents Metrobus operators and other Metro workers, says it's time for Metro to address the problem.

Physical assaults against Metrobus operators range widely. Aggressors have punched, spat on, bitten, stabbed, and shot operators. Bus operators have been sprayed with pepper, hit by thrown objects, and even sexually assaulted.

Despite the severity of these crimes, you don't hear much about workplace violence against Metrobus drivers. Perhaps, the silence is due to the current trend of dumping on these blue-caller workers. Recent news reports create the mistaken image that operators are a band of careless, reckless drivers, who routinely wreck cars and injure pedestrians. In this climate, it's hard to generate compassion for this vital workforce.

But Metrobus operators want the public to know that most of them go to work each day committed to delivering riders safely to their destinations. The men and women behind the wheel are truly where the rubber meets the road. They serve nearly 12,000 bus stops along 323 routes in the Washington Metropolitan Region. What's more, while navigating a megaton vehicle through the region's notoriously congested traffic, bus operators take fares, answer customer questions, and keep an eye and an ear out for any threats of assault, whether verbal or physical.

Violent crimes against operators can cause wholesale damage. A single assault can hurtle a normal ride into a dangerous episode where safety is at-risk for everyone. Passengers can get hurt, bus service can be interrupted, and operators can sustain critical injuries.

Metro can protect drivers from assaults and improve overall bus safety. Three things must happen.

First, the union representing Metrobus operators calls on Metro to deploy more transit police officers to hot spots, those bus routes with the highest incidence of violence. Currently, only 22 police officers patrol Metro's fleet of more than 1,500 buses, resulting in spotty coverage at best on high-crime routes.

Second, we urge Metro to install a plastic shield around the driver's seat in more than 300 buses. At its December meeting, Metro's board voted to reduce the proposed shield program by more than 83 percent, dropping from 301 buses to 51 that get shields.

In opposing the protective shield, D.C. City Councilwoman and Metro board member Muriel Bowser has argued the shield might be an overreaction. According to the Washington Examiner, Bowser says it "sends a message that bus drivers are not safe and people are not safe."

Finally, violence against bus operators is a problem. Metro needs to face that reality and take action to protect the agency's workforce and the riding public. Fending off attacks should not be part of an operator's day's work

Jackie Jeter is president of the Amalgamated Transit Union local 689, which represents Metrobus operators and other Metro workers.

Commentary: 'Ambitious Goal' To Address Unemployment In D.C.

WAMU 88.5 - American University Radio — Fri, 16 Dec 2011 18:41:32 -0500

Martha Ross, Fellow at the Brookings Institution's Metropolitan Policy Program

The District of Columbia continues to struggle with unemployment rates above the national average despite more jobs than residents. That has D.C. leaders trying to figure out how to better prepare Washingtonians to compete in the job market. Commentator Martha Ross, a fellow at the Brookings Institution's Metropolitan Policy Program, says the city must work to give students alternative.

Unemployment and economic opportunity in the District are both in the news a lot these days.

For many young people, there is too much of the former and not enough of the latter. Nearly 9,000 low-income District young people without bachelor's degrees are not in school and not working. That's one in 10. Unemployment rates among teens and young adults have reached Depression-era levels. High-school graduation rates are below 50 percent.

Part of the problem is we don't have clear educational or career pathways to adulthood for our young people. We need to create those pathways or else consign many youth to be low-skilled, low-income, and unemployed DC residents of the future.

The city should commit to an ambitious goal: by 2022, 90 percent of D.C.’s young people will earn a post-secondary credential and obtain full-time work by the age of 24. Such a shared goal would have a cascading effect, and require partners in the public, private and social sectors to re-think and re-orient their standard operating procedures.

Starting with the big picture, let’s acknowledge that there’s dignity in all kinds of learning and working, and get serious about building multiple pathways to high school completion and post-secondary education, instead of focusing only on the college-prep track leading to a four-year degree.

There are many examples of successful practices, in the District and around the country, that help students finish high school, succeed in post-secondary education and link them to good jobs. These include high school career and technical education, paid internships at private sector workplaces, service corps programs, literacy and GED programs linked to job training or post-secondary education, apprenticeships, and partnerships between community colleges and employers.

Building and expanding such programs will be a complex, multi-year project, but it's not out of our reach. In fact, city leaders have already taken a number of steps. They created a community college, revitalized the Workforce Investment Council, and are developing an intermediary to better match residents with job openings. These steps are necessary but not sufficient. We must do more. Through action or inaction, we will leave a legacy for our daughters and sons - it’s up to us whether it is one of hope or despair.

Commentary: Protecting Children Is An Adult's Job

WAMU 88.5 - American University Radio — Sun, 11 Dec 2011 11:21:38 -0500

Michele Booth Cole, Executive Director of Safe Shores

Child sex abuse allegations in the news recently have left some parents wondering about the safety of their own children. Commentator Michele Booth Cole, executive director of Safe Shores, a children's advocacy center in D.C., says child sex abuse is all too prevalent in the Washington area, but there are things adults can do to address the problem.

The Penn State and Syracuse scandals have riveted national attention to what is usually not an everyday conversation topic for most Americans: child sexual abuse. Yet, while today's high-profile allegations are connected with college campuses, child sexual abuse occurs in epidemic proportions across the country - including in places where some might least expect.

Child sexual abuse is a crime of opportunity that predators create by seeking access to places where children live, learn, and play. Often that place is the child's home or the predator's home, according to a landmark report released by the National Center for Juvenile Justice.

That finding plays out each day in the District of Columbia. Some 70 percent of cases that arrive at The DC Children's Advocacy Center where I work, involve child sexual abuse. And in roughly 90 percent of such cases, the young victims know their perpetrators.

In one case I was involved with, a very popular elementary school teacher was found to have been sexually abusing children in the school where he taught. This teacher was an intellectually gifted young man with a degree from a top-ranked university, and he tutored children one-on-one in their homes. He skillfully gained the trust of parents so that he could have unsupervised and unquestioned access to their children.

It's scary stuff. So what can adults do to combat child abuse when perpetrators strive to insinuate themselves into children's lives?

First, learn the facts about child sexual abuse - like on average more than 10 percent of children are sexually abused by their 18th birthdays.

Second, learn how to recognize and respond appropriately to child sexual abuse. Some signs of abuse may include a dramatic change in a child's behavior; or withdrawal and depression; or, trying to appear like everything is fine.

Third, report known or suspected child abuse to child abuse hotlines or by calling 9-1-1.

Fourth, keep the conversation about this tough issue going - both with children (in an age appropriate way) and other adults.

And fifth, get informed about which prevention policies should be in place in schools and youth programs, and then demand that those policies be implemented, or created, if they don't exist where your child is.

Those who perpetrate sexual crimes on children count on adults' discomfort, denial and inaction. So, we have to be aware, be knowledgeable, and pay close attention to children and the people around them. And we must report abuse when we see or suspect it. Protecting children is an adult's job.

Michele Booth Cole is Executive Director of Safe Shores, a children's advocacy center in Washington, D.C.

Kaine, Allen Face Off In Virginia Senatorial Debate

WAMU 88.5 - American University Radio — Thu, 08 Dec 2011 18:57:53 -0500

Two former Virginia governors vying for a U.S. Senate Seat -- faced off today in the first debate of the race. Former U.S. Senator George Allen and Tim Kaine -- former Governor and head of the Democratic National Committee -- met in Richmond this afternoon. Neither is the official nominee of his party, but they were the only two candidates to meet the criteria set for the debate -- that they poll at 15 percent or better and raise at least one-fifth the funds raised by the front-runner. Another candidate, Julie Modica did not meet the criteria and lost a lawsuit seeking to take part.

The event was moderated by Bob Gibson -- executive director of the Sorensen Institute for Political Leadership at the University of Virginia. He spoke with WAMU's Rebecca Blatt about the highlights.

What were the biggest themes of the debate?

It was very early, and it allowed them both opportunities to draw some contrasts. Allen used the opportunity to attach Governor Kaine to the Obama administration on healthcare, spending and taxation. Governor Kaine used it to go after Allen's record in the Senate on spending.

"There were a number of sharp contrasts which are rarely made this far out in a campaign," says Gibson.

What did you make of the response to George Allen's question about the partisan nature of Kaine's experience with the DNC?

"He knew it was coming. He knew that George Allen at every opportunity would try to tie him to President Obama. Mr. Kaine responded by putting it in the best light he could, on service that, politically, might cost him something," says Gibson.

Kaine repeatedly tried to frame the race as a re-election bid for Allen. What do you make of that strategy?

"It sounds like a smart strategy for Mr. Kaine to go after Mr. Allen's six years in the U.S. Senate, where he voted time and again on spending increases and raising the debt ceiling. Those are issues that might drive a little bit of a wedge between Mr. Allen and the Tea Party.

Were there any surprises?

"I think the biggest surprise may have been the back and forth over when life begins, with George Allen saying that it should begin at conception, but his answer included that he did not think that would effect birth control pills. Governor Kaine insisted that it would. There was more of a sharp clash on that than I think anybody expected at this debate."

What do you see as the biggest questions in this race moving forward?

"I think the economy is, without a debt, going to be the biggest issue. There were sharp lines drawn between the two on deficit spending, on how much money goes into healthcare. It's going to be an interesting year, with sharp contrasts between whoever wins the Republican nomination -- most likely George Allen -- and whoever wins the Democratic nomination -- most likely Tim Kaine. I think they're going to have 11 months of discussion on the economy."