Galina Kolomietz
Woodley Park
Traveling in Style
It seems to make sense for D.C. Council member Jim Graham (D-Ward 1) to make his trip to Ethiopia ["Traveling to Ethiopia for Clues About D.C.," Aug. 5 District Extra], and I'm glad that his multicultural and community relations director, Ted Loza, also is making the trip.
Loza says, "We intend to get immersed into the culture." So where do the free accommodations from Sheraton Hotels and Resorts fit in?
Philip H. Viles Jr.
Capitol Hill
What's the True Cost?
Thanks to Clarence Williams for his story ["D.C. to Share Horse Stable With U.S. Park Police," Aug. 5 District Extra] on the questionable decision by Police Chief Charles H. Ramsey, former assistant chief Alfred J. Broadbent and police facilities manager Eric Coard to pump D.C. taxpayers' money into a federal facility while at the same time rejecting a city-owned (not to mention historic) site exactly suited for the mounted patrol.
What was not clear in the article, however, was the exact cost to D.C. taxpayers to proceed with Eric Coard's plan. The figure given, $500,000, was for the addition only, not for the total rehabilitation of the Fort Dupont facility. That figure could be more than double the stated amount, and we deserve to know just how much it will be.
It is also not clear why the D.C. police, and Mayor Williams for that matter, would not want to establish a secure police presence in a historic barn that must be restored (in accordance with a deal establishing the Unified Communications Center) with funds already available. The money to stabilize the cavalry barn does not come from D.C. taxpayers. The barn's roof has needed repairs for years. What does it take to get our government to put two and two together and get something right for a change?
What is wrong with this scenario? The barn has a mandate to be restored with private funds, in the bank, waiting to be used; the city's mounted patrol needs a home; D.C. taxpayers are not footing the bill; and we are coughing up $500,000 (at a minimum) for someone else's property! That money could buy an awful lot of horse feed, but I fear we are actually getting a load of something entirely different.
Stephen Ortado
President, Friends of the
St. Elizabeths Cavalry Barn
North Cleveland Park
