The Weekly Feed: Experimentation Edition
Morning Roundup: Change Edition
Former Blade Staffers Launch 'DC Agenda'
D.C. Insurance Dept. Denies Birth Control Coverage Meddling
Controversy Over Rhee Now to Include Sex, Congress
Good morning, Washington. Getting going on a Monday is normally difficult enough, but we were having a few technological difficulties this morning as well, so thanks for your patience and bear with this truncated Morning Roundup while we get up to speed.
Tax Scandal Triggers Reviews in Counties: Neighboring jurisdictions are apparently taking D.C.'s tax office scandal to heart and initiating big reviews of their agencies. Property tax revenues are slated to be scrutinized in Montgomery County, Arlington County, Prince George's County, Loudoun County and others.
Background Checks to Increase for D.C. Employees: The Examiner reports that most D.C. government and public school employees whose jobs entail direct contact with children will now have to undergo criminal background checks, regardless of when they were first hired.
D.C. Libraries Remove Nearly 40 from Their Jobs: Sunday's Post reported that the D.C. Public Library system, being led through the first stages of an overhaul by chief librarian Ginnie Cooper, has fired eight employees and convinced another 30 to retire early. The changes, which include some branch library heads, is meant to make room for the library system to hire more high-tech savvy employees.
Briefly Noted: Suspect arrested after three killed in Prince William County ... Gaithersburg-area fire kills three ... Council members seek to license pharmaceutical salespeople.
Photo by rukasu1
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We have a library system?
I have stepped foot in a DC library exactly one time in the 12 years I have lived here. And that was to donate some used college textbooks at the West End library that I couldn't sell back to the GW Bookstore at the end of the year and didn't feel like lugging around.
The nicest DC Library currenly has to be the Tenleytown one. It's a fun pile of rubble to climb on. And you can make fun little snowmen out of the asbestos insullation.
I like how they're only doing criminal background checks now. What were they doing before? Asking them "do you rape children?" and they sorta shrug and respond "maybe" and get hired anyway?
The exact positions to require checks are to be determined, but the number of employees affected could top out at nearly 15,000 — 2,400 in the executive and 12,000 or more in the schools.
Hear that? That's the sound of 15,000 DC employees dusting off their resumés. And by "resumé" I mean "Popeyes napkin with their name misspelled in crayon."
I have a question: if a half of all DC employees have their job due to some association with the Mayor-for-life or his cronies, does that count as a disqualifying criminal act?
Thank God there are changes happening with the library system here. Hands down the WORST libraries I've ever visited. The only thing worse than the conditions of the buildings and the books was the employees. I'm sure they are underpaid and all that, but the crappy attitude I get from them every time I step foot in there (MLK) just makes me angry.
Great photo. I love that little row of houses - they're the ones right off of Calvert, right?
And by the way, MLK Library is a homeless shelter that happens to have a lot of books.
Ellen Kardy, the head librarian at the Mount Pleasant branch, was one of the folks let go by DCPL last week. I've been a patron of the library for 7 years, and have always found Ellen to be professional, creative, and enthusiastic about the branch and its patrons. She has remained cheerfully committed to providing our neighborhood with quality service, despite the often trying conditions resulting from the city's neglect of the library system.
She is, in short, the kind of employee that DCPL should be working hard to retain. I suspect this has more to do with arcane contract issues and change for its own sake, rather than the IT proficiency of those fired (or any other carefully considered motivation).
I'm kind of flabbergasted by the criminal backgrounds checks. However, it's not like anyone's getting fired if they were a criminal - that process would be so long and time & money consuming they wouldnt bother - they'd just be moved to a position that doesnt work with the kids... Maybe the financial office?
I've had mixed results with the libraries. The branch libraries I've visted have had helpful, friendly staff who were more than happy to help when asked. The Main Branch at the MLK building, on the other hand, seems to have hired their folks straight out the District of Columbia School for Surly Customer Service Employees. Never terribly helpful, no smiling, and heaven forfend they come out from behind the desk.
The Washingtoniana Division is the only rational excuse for the continued existence of MLK. Period.
Drug detailers: register them, for crying out loud. That is a no-brainer. If the bill is complicated, split it up into little baby bills and vote on each of them separately (please excuse the complicated legislative language).
Cut the MLK staff some slack. If you were trapped in an architect's nightmare, surrounded by homeless computer squatters downloading porn for 8-hour stretches, you'd be kinda surly, too.
Do they still have the urine-rusted halfdoors in the mensroom stalls? The ones that are supposed to discourage guys from banging eachother/living there? Even a little glory hole maintenance would be much appreciated.
The WP article quotes some DC personnel person saying they are firing the existing library people to replace them with 'people that grew up with new technology'?
Wouldn't that mean they are firing old people to replace them with young people?
Isn't that, uh, illegal?
And how much technology training does it really take to be a librarian or library support staff?
I personally hate to read, so I never go to libraries (actually, I secretly think they don't actually exist).
And I'm always one to vote for firing useless DC employees. But if you are going to do it, try to do it legally. If only because, well, because.