Alexandria’s Trail of Tears

Posted on May 16, 2012 by admin

Edwin Pineda, 10, testfies before the Alexandria City Council

Listen to Edwin Pineda and others testify

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This world was made by god for every human being, not only for the rich and other companies like JBG.  – Edwin Pineda, age 10

“This is a watershed moment for the Council,” community activist Ernie Lehmann said in testimony before the Alexandria City Council. “Will they bow to the profit motive of the developers or to the needs of the people?”

Saturday, the Alexandria City Council voted 6-0, with one abstention, to approve a plan that demolishes 2,475 apartments in Alexandria’s diverse West End community in the Beauregard area. The now-approved Beauregard Small Area Plan allows JBG and four other developers to move forward with the construction of 12.4 million square feet of development, most of it upscale housing.

In addition to demonstrations, the all-day hearing in the packed Council chamber saw a woman return to testify not long after she taken out on a stretcher after fainting. The heated hearing also saw two developer representatives at times all but running what was ostensibly a public hearing of the Alexandria City Council. Continue reading →

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Checking In With Occupy DC

Posted on May 10, 2012 by admin

Listen to occupiers Rooj Alwazir, Jason McGaughey and Justin Rodriguez

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“In a way I’m kind of happy the eviction happened,” said Rooj Alwazir, an organizer with Occupy DC, which was forcefully evicted from its K Street encampment at McPherson Square in February.

“Right now we’re shifting from just the encampment… to actually organizing with communities and learning how we can build people power,” Alwazir, 24, said last week on Voice of Russia’s Capitol Correspondent, guest-hosted by TheFightBack‘s Pete Tucker.

A member of Occupy Our Homes, an off-shoot of Occupy DC which focuses on home foreclosure defense, Alwazir discussed the case of Bertina Jones, a Prince George’s County homeowner who was slated to be evicted. Continue reading →

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West End Resident Hector Pineda, Planning Commissioner Donna Fossum Debate Development and Displacement

Posted on May 9, 2012 by admin

Present West End housing. Photo courtesy of JBG

Listen to West End resident Hector Pineda debate Alexandria Planning Commission’s Donna Fossum

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Interview by Pete Tucker, written report by Chris Lewis (@Chris_Lewis_)

Hold on to your houses.

In northern Virginia, some residents are trying to do just that. On May 12th, Alexandria’s City Council will vote on a plan put forth by five area real estate companies to redevelop the city’s Beauregard area in the West End, a pocket of Alexandria with a reputation for diversity and affordability. Some residents fear losing their homes—the plan, led by Maryland-based developer JBG , calls for demolishing 2,475 units of housing and replacing them with denser and pricier apartments.

As the Council prepares to vote debate has flared over the merits of the proposal. In a Sunday feature, the Washington Post reported: “The stakes are high not only because the plan would make over the neighborhood but also, some argue, because it would more broadly influence who can afford to live in this increasingly affluent inside-the-Beltway city.” Last week on Capital Correspondent, TheFightBack’s Pete Tucker hosted a discussion on the development plan.

“This plan, it’s a mess,” said Hector Pineda, a resident of the area and president of the Beauregard Tenants Association. If the plan passes in its present form, Pineda’s home is slated to be demolished.  Continue reading →

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School’s Out? D.C. and NYC Teachers Talk School Closures

Posted on May 3, 2012 by admin

Photo courtesy of studentunitypower.org

Listen to educators Candi Peterson, Nils DeVito and James Boutin

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Interview by Pete Tucker, written report by Chris Lewis (@Chris_Lewis_)

Washingtonians and New Yorkers, be warned. If the mayor has his way, your child’s walk to school next year could be a whole lot longer.

Earlier this year, Mayor Vincent Gray and Schools Chancellor Kaya Henderson commissioned a report that recommended turning around or closing 38 public schools. Meanwhile, in New York City, Mayor Michael Bloomberg is seeking to close 24 schools deemed to be underperforming.

“What’s so sad is that the community has had no say in it, and the teachers have no say in it,” said Nils DeVita, a teacher and union delegate in New York. DeVita spoke with Voice of Russia’s Capital Correspondent on Tuesday, in a show guest-hosted by TheFightBack’s Pete Tucker.

Critics levy similar charges here in DC. “Our concern is that these people have come in from Chicago, many of whom have not visited the schools they’ve recommended to close, and there have been no focus groups, no parental involvement,” said Candi Peterson, a social worker at Cardozo High School. Continue reading →

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May Day: Past and Present

Posted on May 2, 2012 by admin

Listen to labor professor Bill Barry and organizer Tai Smith

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“When people who are religious get in tough situations they go read the Bible. I go read labor history.”  – Professor Bill Barry

“General Strike. No Work. No Shopping. Occupy Everywhere.”

That’s the call Occupy Wall Street put out for May Day, the first one since the Occupy movement touched off.

As tens of thousands took part in mostly peaceful demonstrations throughout the U.S., a hundred protesters gathered outside city hall in Alexandria, Virginia, and a couple hundred gathered at Baltimore’s Inner Harbor, which had been the home of Occupy Baltimore for several months in the late fall and winter.

Shortly before he was scheduled to speak at the Baltimore rally, Bill Barry, director of labor studies at the Community College of Baltimore County, called into Voice of Russia’s Capitol Correspondent and laid out the history of May Day or International Workers Day. Continue reading →

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A Tale of Two Cities: D.C. and NYC Differ In Dealing with Walmart

Posted on May 2, 2012 by admin

Listen to Walmart organizers Mike Wilson and Maritza Silva-Farrell

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Walmart, the world’s largest retailer, is attempting to enter urban markets, having already saturated many suburban and rural areas.

D.C. and New York City have dealt differently with the company’s attempts to open stores. In New York, city officials have held public hearings and issued substantive reports pointing up Walmart’s potentially harmful impact. But in D.C., officials have largely taken on the role of cheerleaders and Walmart is slated to build six stores in the nation’s capital, where presently it has none.

“Unfortunately here in D.C., our elected officials have been much more on the side of Walmart,” Respect DC organizer Mike Wilson told TheFightBack‘s Pete Tucker, who guest-hosted Capitol Correspondent‘s May Day special on Voice of Russia Radio which airs in D.C. and New York City.

Wilson questioned the cozy relationship between several D.C. officials and Walmart, as well as the company’s use of the powerful lobby firm Patton Boggs, which provides D.C. Councilmember Jack Evans with a $190,000 salary. “[This] raises additional concerns about what’s going on here in D.C.” said Wilson. Continue reading →

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Pete Guest Hosts Capitol Correspondent Next Week

Posted on April 26, 2012 by admin

Listen to Pete and The Urban Revival‘s Kentry Kinard on Capitol Correspondent with host Carmen Russell-Sluchansky

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Tuesday on Voice of Russia’s Capitol Correspondent, which airs in DC (1390 AM) and New York (1430 AM), Pete discussed the differences between how the Big Apple and the nation’s capital have dealt with two issues: Walmart’s attempts to move in, and taxicab policy. Both of these issues will be explored further next week on Capitol Correspondent when Pete fills in for host Carmen Russell-Sluchansky on May 1 and 3.

Also joining the program was Kentry Kinard, a senior at Howard University and editor of The Urban Revival, who discussed the impact gentrification has had on D.C., his native city.

Next week, Capitol Correspondent will take a closer look at gentrification, as well as  find out what Occupy DC has been up to.

Posted in District of Columbia, Taxicab, Walmart | Comments Off

D.C. Taxi Fares Just Got Significantly Higher… Or Maybe Not

Posted on April 25, 2012 by admin

Pete discusses taxicab issues with Bruce DePuyt (video at bottom).

As of Saturday, D.C. taxicabs – at least some of them – are charging $2.16 per mile, a significant $0.66 increase from the previous rate of $1.50 per mile, one of the lowest rates in the country. Whether the cost of a ride will dramatically increase, however, is unclear due to the elimination of extra fees and surcharges which make up a significant source of driver revenue.

Drivers, who are considering legal options to overturn the fare adjustment, are particularly concerned about the removal of the $1.50 extra passenger fee. While this fee’s removal hurts drivers, it’s a boon for the hospitality industry whose patrons will benefit from what amounts to an untold number of free rides.

The power the hospitality industry has over the taxicab industry is unmistakable and can be seen in the composition of the D.C. Taxicab Commission. Of the DCTC’s four commissioners (there are supposed to be nine), two are from the hospitality industry (restaurateur Paul Cohn and Bart Lasner with Loews Hotels), while none are from the taxicab industry, even though the law requires that there be three. Continue reading →

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A Discussion on U.S. Presidential Elections, Foreign Policy and Media Coverage

Posted on April 22, 2012 by admin

Pete appeared on Deadline with host Carey Campbell in February. Fellow guests included Martin Sieff, chief analyst for The Globalist, and Green Party presidential candidate Rhett Smith.

Among the issues discussed and debated were the presidential elections; U.S. foreign policy and the aggressive posture towards Syria and Iran, as well as the continuation of the war on Afghanistan, the longest in U.S. history; and the shortcomings of the U.S. media.

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DC Officials Insist On Improving Schools By Closing Them

Posted on April 20, 2012 by admin

Listen to TheFightBack question Mayor Gray and Chancellor Henderson:

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“We are going to have to consolidate the number of schools that we educate our children in,” Mayor Vincent Gray said Wednesday at a press conference introducing D.C.’s new five year education plan. Gray said the D.C. Public Schools (DCPS) system is presently “unsustainable” and some schools must be closed in order to provide the “ancillary services [District residents] would like to see in schools.”

Gray echoed the findings of a DCPS-commissioned study conducted by The Illinois Facilities Fund (IFF) which called for either turning around 38 schools or closing them, potentially converting them into charter schools.

The study was funded by a $100,000 grant from The Walton Foundation, i.e. Walmart, which is looking to bring six stores to D.C. and is known to promote charter schools, not traditional public schools (or their unions). In addition to the Walmart connection, education experts and activists also question the objectivity of IFF, which is a real estate consulting firm that has lent out more than $57 million to charters.

School officials, of course, knew about IFF going in, yet they selected the firm anyway, and in a less than transparent process.  Continue reading →

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