January 21, 2008
Morning Roundup: Moments of Comfort Edition
Good morning, Washington. This Martin Luther King, Jr. holiday finds those who had to come into work this morning whining about the cold (though temperatures should be back up above 30 by midday) and the lengthy metro delays that began over the weekend on the Red, Orange and Blue lines, which will continue through midnight tonight. Best to focus instead on the ideas and the man this day is meant to honor -- the Post has a list of events scheduled around the city that will pay tribute to Dr. King today. We'd recommend heading over to the Kennedy Center at noon 4 p.m. to pickup free tickets for the 6 p.m. Let Freedom Ring Choir concert, featuring Georgetown University students and members of the Metropolitan Music Ministry of the Metropolitan Baptist Church and the Capitol Hill Seventh-Day Adventist Church.
Suspected Capitol Hill Gunman Appears in Court: More details about the background of Michael Gorbey, 38, the man who was arrested carrying a loaded shotgun, a samurai sword and a bow and arrow on Friday afternoon near Union Station. It turns out Gorbey, who was denied bond over the weekend, was questioned a few years ago after flying over restricted airspace near Camp David. Gorbey told police he was heading to the Supreme Court to "take care of business", WTOP reported.
Fenty Raises Ire of Social Workers: David Nakamura has an account in this morning's Post about a meeting between Mayor Fenty and the city's social workers that wasn't exactly friendly. About 20 of the social workers got up and walked out of the meeting after Fenty dismissed one of them for hissing while he addressed the group. The meeting had been called to motivate the workers after half a dozen of their colleagues were fired in the wake of the Jacks murders investigation.
Briefly Noted: VRE to raise fares through 2014 ... Police investigating sexual assault in Chevy Chase ... Police looking for missing 89-year-old man.
Photo by *wanderlust*
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Apparently DC social workers are unfamiliar with how having an employer works. You don't get to hiss and disrupt a meeting with your employer. If you do, you get fired.
If I were Fenty I'd immediately fire every one of those losers that left the room. They are part of the problem, not the solution.
The Post article really seems to be trying to cast Fenty as the villain, but I think Hillman is right.
It really seems like there is an entitlement mentality surrounding many of the District's issues. Breaking that mentality is Fenty's greatest challenge, and I will be surprised if he prevails.
as important as it is to make employees feel appreciated, a stern "lecture" from the mayor (as the union president whiningly termed it) to the city social workers seems appropriate about now. along with, of course, a promise to give them all the support they need to actually do their jobs.
i guess monkey is off today.....
Four kids are dead, and countless more are undoubtedly being abused or mistreated by the DC social services system. So, yes, a 'lecture' is perhaps something these folks can stand to put up with. It sure beats being starved and stabbed or choked to death, which is apparently what happened to these girls that should been protected by these very losers that are 'hissing' at meetings.
My big disappointment in Williams is that he didn't clean house like he promised. I'm sure he found it a much larger task than he thought. And turning around the DC government employee 'not my job' mindset is going to take a long time, probably longer than any one or two mayoral terms.
I just hope Fenty keeps it up, when appropriate.
Hoodrat has a point about also providing support. The problem isn't money - DC govt has more money than they know what to do with. The problem is the 'not my job' mentality and the gross incompetence. The good employees that are out there (and there are some) are often unable to do their jobs because the resources they need aren't provided, they are punished for speaking up, etc.
But mostly it's attitude.
Every winter we get water leaks in the city. Fire hydrants or water leaks under major roads, etc. You know that countless city employees travel these same roads we do. But the reports go unreported for months. Why? Not a single city employee seems to think it's their job to report water leaks, evens as they freeze over, month after month. So the problem gets worse, unsafe conditions are created, tons of water is wasted, etc.
Why? "Not my job" seems to be the DC government worker mantra. Right after "job for life".