Potomac Confidential

Marc Fisher (The Washington Post)

Potomac Confidential fills the midday lull with discussion of the latest news and a rigorous slicing and dicing of the issues that define who we are and where we live.

In his weekly show, Washington Post Metro columnist Marc Fisher veers wildly from serious probing to silly prattle, and is open to topics local, national, personal and more.

This Week's Columns:

A Rare Chance To Redeem D.C. Libraries (Aug. 5)

Scenes From a City In the Pink (Aug. 3)

Silly Laws Bottle Up Fine Wine (Aug. 1)

Killjoys Wreck Homeowners' Lucky Break (July 29)

A transcript follows.

Editor's Note: Washingtonpost.com moderators retain editorial control over Live Online discussions and choose the most relevant questions for guests and hosts; guests and hosts can decline to answer questions.

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Marc Fisher: Welcome aboard, folks. Sorry for the late start--technical difficulties.
Quickly then: This week's columns: Sunday's was a visit to the Middleburg winery that is ground zero in the fight for the right to ship wine across state lines.
Tuesday was a trip to the Orange Zone, where the threat of terrorism leads to security silliness, as well as the jitters that are now part of our daily lives.
Today is a return to the sticky problem of how to fix the District's libraries--with a powerful sign of hope, if only the mayor and council will take a new road.
Now, the Yay and Nay of the Day:
Yay to the D.C. Board of Elections for doing the right thing and telling those cynical organizers for slots in the District to go back to their Caribbean fantasy island. Abusing our elections system is no way to exercise democratic franchise.
Nay to the federal authorities who would use every new whisper of a threat of terrorism to close off streets and further turn our city into a monument to fear. Check out the wildly different reactions here and in New York, where there are far more visible and heavily armed troops on the streets, but where the streets remain open. In DC, it looks like we're headed toward the theme park solution--dome the city and make visitors pay admission to get in.
Your turn....

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Aspen Hill, Md.: My boos for the week:
-- Obviously Tom Ridge for not bothering to tell us how old the intelligence was when he announced the latest alert (we want full disclosure), but taking the time to make it into a campaign speech. This reassures us that alerts aren't political (I think that generally they are not)?
-- Metro for telling its drivers to keep telling passengers that a stopped train will be moving "momentarily," when they really don't know when the train will continue. "Momentarily" has come to mean "sometime between now and the end of time."
-- Local media for relying primarily on Metro's spokesperson for information on whether trains are running late and, if so, by how much. If they devoted as much resources to giving us practical info re Metro as they do in putting together syncophantic reports on the Redskins' training camp, we'd be better off.
-- "Yay" to Marc Fisher. Why? Why not? Have a nice day.

Marc Fisher: Hey, thanks for the yay.
I'm with you on Metro--they've had a very bad stretch of news and luck lately, and they're not coping very well. Too little money in the system? Insufficient management of the rank and file? Whatever the problem, we're watching a system decline before our eyes, and it's correctable, but only if politicians in all three jurisdictions get serious about it--fast.

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What's up with the Red Line?: Last night it took me 2 hours to get home (a trip that should be 45 min. door to door) because of a "delay." When I did finally get on a train, some poor soul got sick and we were all off-loaded at the next stop. Then the empty train pulled away! My question is, why is it Metro policy to off-load hundreds of people when only one person is ill? Wouldn't it make more sense to off-load the sick person (once it's safe to do so) and let the other passengers on their way?

Marc Fisher: There's a good summary in today's paper by Lyndsey Layton of the Red Line's woes, which stem in good part from that rain we had last week. But the failure to repair the line by now is a strong indicator that the problem is deeper than a storm.

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Washington, D.C.: I live in the District and feel rather defensive when others excessively criticize D.C. for its many failings (such as education, crime, lead in the drinking water, etc.) and question why anyone would ever live in the city. Although I recognize such problems do exist, on a general level, are the problems that the District faces really that much different than what goes on in other big cities? Also, don't the suburbs have their own share of problems, but just on a different scale?

Marc Fisher: Sure, everybody's got problems. Me, I've got water pouring into my basement ("Oh, it's just a trickle maybe once a year," the previous owner assured us.) Can you spell Niagara Falls?
But yes, the District's problems are worse than many other cities' and the reasons are several: Insufficient control over our own affairs, meddling Congressfolk, a deep structural imbalance in funding caused by the inability to tax commuters as most cities do, and a lack of a strong enough tax base within the city.

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Olney, Md.: How do we (the every day commuter) get the message across to the powers that be that the Washington, D.C. suburban areas need express bus service to the high density working area hubs ASAP. NYC has had this type of service for years. The D.C. area is at a critical point in the lack of adequate transportation service.

Marc Fisher: There are good and working express commuter buses from Calvert County and elsewhere in southern Maryland. We should have more from other suburbs, and they used to exist pre-Metro, but were mostly removed from the roads when Metro opened. Should they exist in places not served by Metro? Sure--with dedicated lanes on the major highways, just like there used to be.

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washingtonpost.com: Slow Service On Red Line Angers Riders (Post, Aug. 5)

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Run! Orange Alert! Run!: Okay, so riddle me again why we are supposed to be so afraid? We found detailed info about 5 buildings dating back before 9/11, which makes the surveillance utterly worthless (it's all changed after 9/11). As a result of this ancient info, and some (typically vague) new stuff, we're in panic mode. So panicked that we've closed down locations that have nothing to do with the surveillance records, permanently (so much for "imminent threat").

If GWB keeps staying down in the polls, I'm afraid there won't be much left of the city that hasn't been confiscated by the Fed for "terrorist alerts".

Marc Fisher: I agree that the failure to disclose upfront how old this intelligence was showed poor judgment. But I wouldn't be so quick to ascribe political intent. As it's turned out, there have been more recent add-ons to that intelligence that make it quite possible that there's still al-Qaeda planning aimed at those targets. That doesn't justify moving so many resources to protect that handful of buildings--similar security should be in place for all natural targets.

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Bethesda, Md.: Thirty-seven percent illiteracy in the District? THIRTY-SEVEN PERCENT?! Your library story is a footnote compared to that little gem.

Marc Fisher: Quite sad--and of course what it really says about the failure of our public schools is powerful indeed.

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Washington, D.C.: Marc,

I just finished today's column and just have to ask what seems like a most obvious question. Isn't Mrs. Bush a librarian by training and practice? Has she done anything to directly help D.C. libraries in the 3+ years she has lived here? Has she even set foot in one?

Marc Fisher: If she has, it's been a well kept secret. Most First Ladies have adopted some non-political cause of their own, but I don't know of any that Mrs. Bush has gotten into, at least not here in town. The libraries are a natural for her, and if this library system had a real and vibrant support system, its leaders would have approached her long ago.

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Washington, D.C.: Thank you so much for your efforts on behalf of D.C.'s libraries. I love libraries (I'm even dating a librarian), and it's always made me sad to see the state of D.C.'s facilities. The suburban counties have good libraries. Poor, crumbling Baltimore somehow finds the money and will to maintain an amazing city library. Library excellence is something that is easily within D.C.'s reach, if only enough people care.

Marc Fisher: Baltimore's libraries put ours to shame, and for those of you who follow my occasional needling of our neighbor to the north, you know that's a lot for me to say. The District's have had no serious attention for decades---Baltimore's have made an impressive comeback. All it takes is political will and popular support, both of which could be rallied easily enough.

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Shaw, Washington, D.C.: Mark,
Great column and great cause. Whatever happened to the idea of selling air rights over the other library branches as well? The branch in South Dupont/Foggy Bottom could surely rake in big bucks if they let condos be built on top. And the Waltha Daniels branch is also in a great location at Logan East.

Marc Fisher: And it's not only the libraries in fancier neighborhoods that are attracting attention from developers. I had a call today from a developer who had an impressive plan to rebuild the Anacostia branch library--at virtually no cost to the city--but couldn't get past the doubting Thomases at the city council.

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Washington, D.C.: Marc, this is former Library Trustee Alexander Padro. I'm glad to see that you're still supporting the revitalization of D.C.'s public library system. But the proposal presented by Altman, Sternlieb, et al., is disingenuous at best. The reason why the proposed new downtown central public library would be less expensive to build than renovating the MLK Library is that there would be no new library building at all. If you refer back to the "Post's" coverage last month of the agreement the mayor worked out with the developer of the old convention center site, you'll see that the current plan is to put the library in the basement of a new building, likely a hotel. I guess the mayor is planning on calling the building the Martin Luther King, Jr. Memorial Hotel. The plan is a real estate scheme, pure and simple.

Secondly, to blame the current library board for all the system's failings is comparable to blaming the current school board for all DCPS' failings. The cause of the deterioration of the system has been decade after decade of funding far below what comparable jurisdictions spend on their libraries. While on the board, I was one of that body's most vocal critics. But placing decades of fiscal neglect by the mayor and council on the shoulders of the library board is unjustifiable.

Lastly, comparing the renaissance of other cities' library systems to ours is not an apples-to-apples comparison. Look at the dedicated funding stream Chicago's mayor put in place for the Windy City's libraries. Look at the deep base of philanthropy NYPL had available to tap. Those key factors are missing in D.C. Look more carefully and you'll see the mayor's plan for what it is, mere smoke and mirrors.

Marc Fisher: Thanks for the comments, Alex. Alexander Padro is a dedicated activist who is exactly what this library system needs, even if we do disagree on how to develop the libraries.
No, there's no plan to put the central library in the basement of a hotel. The plans for the old convention center site are not nearly that specific. But yes, a library would be a great piece of a larger redevelopment there that would include hotel, retail, office and public cultural institutions.

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Westfield, N.J.: Marc, good column on libraries today. In my hometown of Syracuse, the main library was moved from an aging Carnegie building to a downtown multi-use complex on the site of an old W.T. Grant store, and it's done wonders for all concerned.

I wanted to let you know about this upcoming event: The Baltimore Orioles will hold their 6th annual "D.C. Summer FanFest" on Wednesday, Aug. 18, from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. at Farragut Square, near the team store. Players and coaches will be there.

I would hope that people who want baseball back in Washington and oppose the Orioles' monopoly on baseball in the region will show up and protest in a positive way through non-vulgar picketing (example of a sign: "The O-zone layer isn't healthy for D.C."). Wear Senators T-shirts and other items. Show Cuban Pete, a k a the new Calvin Griffith, there are indeed baseball fans in the District, for if there aren't, then why are the Orioles holding this event? (And please don't take it out on the players and coaches who attend, because they're not at fault.)

Marc Fisher: That's a great idea--if Angelos is going to try to stop baseball from coming here by playing the media, then public responses in the form of protests and creative displays of our desire for a team are just the right way to go.

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Kingstowne, Va.: I just heard that the BALTIMORE Orioles are hosting a "D.C. Fan Fest" on 8/18 in D.C. Why would Peter Angelos want to host a fan fest in a town where there are no "real fans" (in his words)? It's also kind of funny that this was rescheduled for 8/18, the first day of the next owners meetings, at which the Expos are sure to be a primary topic.

Would you (and Boswell) be so kind as to call on all of D.C. to either boycott this event or go with signs supporting the Expos relocation to D.C. or Northern Virginia?

Marc Fisher: I'd far rather people show up to express their views than to boycott--a boycott is a tough thing to see.

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Baltimore, Md.: Ok, not sure if this question fits this discussion, but its worth a try. My friend and I were having an argument regarding salaries of morning show hosts. Specifically we were talking about shock jock types (Elliot and the Sports Junkies). She was a film/media major and claims radio DJ's make about 35K/year. I was trying to explain to her that radio DJ's might, but being a morning show host in a relatively large market is completely different then your average radio DJ. I searched the Internet for salaries, but couldn't come up with much to support my opinion. Any help on where to find general information about this subject. Thanks.

Marc Fisher: You're both right. The average radio deejay out there in the hinterlands is very poorly paid, about on a par with school teachers. But in the big cities, and especially in the morning drive time, it's a wholly different ballgame. Big city morning jocks are routinely well into the six figures, and the big names are in the mid-sixes, and the big nationally syndicated morning stars (Stern, Tom Joyner, Don Imus) are well into the millions.

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Olney, Md.: Any chance you'll do a (another?) column on the lawsuit to allow us to walk to a Redskins game? (Your archives only go back to June, but I'm sure I remember you writing about this.) I find it hard to believe this ban on pedestrians will stand, although Dan Snyder can probably buy whatever decision he wants from Prince George's Fiefdom ... er, County. Jack Johnson is proving that by the way he's mishandled the WSSC. (Another nay for Johnson and his pet board member/contractor buddy?)

Marc Fisher: We've talked about the walking to the stadium issue here on the show, but I don't think I've columnized on it. I should. It's simply an outrageous play for more parking revenue to try to stop people from walking. The safety issue is a canard--any route, no matter how close to car traffic, can be made safer with the addition of lane striping, fencing, or cones.

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Washington, D.C.: Where will it stop? I read yesterday that the Chief of the Capitol Police wants to implement a policy to check ID and search everyone who comes on the 'grounds' of the Capitol.

It's a small source of pride that I am a citizen of a country where I can enjoy the grounds of my Capitol.

Policies like this diminish us all.

Marc Fisher: It's quite clear by now that the Capitol Police and Congress intend for all of the Hill to become a legislative theme park, with no outside traffic of any kind. That presents a traffic nightmare to the city and its planners, but that's where we're headed, so why do it piecemeal? If that's where they're going, just cordon off the whole area and create one-way streets around the Hill area. I don't see how it can create anything but massive gridlock, but that's where we're going. And do we get any real security out of it? No, but this is all a mind game, with little real connection to physical security.

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Silver Spring, Md.: Can someone please explain to me the rationale behind having guards with assault rifles on the Metro. Is this supposed to scare the terrorists? I can't imagine it will deter them from going through with any plans they may have. If it is for more practical uses, wouldn't a simple hand gun be enough? Is there ever a situation where firing an automatic weapon on a crowded train would be a good idea? The only thing these weapons do successfully is scare metro riders -- mission accomplished.

Marc Fisher: The intent is not so much to scare riders as it is to somehow comfort us and lull us into believing that the authorities have a handle on things. And perhaps to act as a deterrent against potential terrorists. Though it should be clear by now that they are not deterred by shows of force.
The best security is often the invisible kind, but the people who have far more experience than we do with terrorism also have come to believe in visible deterrents: Look at the tanks parked outside synagogues in Germany or the automatic weapons that officers carry outside public buildings in Paris and London.

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Olney, Md.: Hey Marc, I'm the LAST person to defend the current administration, but I had the wrong impression at first, too, so I just wanted to clarify that the intelligence was not three years old, it was relatively recent. The recent intelligence showed that the buildings in question were under surveillance by al Qaeda three years ago.

To me, that was somewhat less asinine.

Marc Fisher: Right, and the administration is now scurrying to note that there were changes made to those computer files as recently as this year, possibly indicating an updating of plans to attack those buildings.

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Cheverly, Md.: Hi, Marc. Can you, or anybody, explain why the cable company is allowed to have a monopoly? Why don't they have competitors the way Verizon and even Pepco do?

Thanks.

Marc Fisher: There has been an attempt to chip away at that monopoly--I've been a customer for years of Starpower, which is the alternative cable company in Washington, and which in my experience offers vastly better service than Comcast. And of course the satellite dish companies present themselves as another alternative. But Starpower's parent is in bankruptcy and the cable companies themselves are in trouble as the dish companies gain market share, as a good piece in yesterday's Wall Street Journal pointed out.

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Arlington, Va.: Can I get an insider's viewpoint from you? Several articles have appeared in the Post about the Unity convention for journalists of color. I applaud efforts for all organizations to reach out to all of our citizens. But in light of the NYT survey showing a 12-1 support for Kerry among all journalists covering the DNC, shouldn't the Post and other media organizations also be reaching out to conservative groups? Why not support a diversity of opinion within the newsroom?

Marc Fisher: Well, a reporter's own political opinions shouldn't have anything to do with his reporting on a given topic. And in my experience, the better reporters lean over backwards to correct for their own personal bias. No reporter wants to be accused of bias, but I sometimes took perverse pride when I was a straight news reporter in being accused of bias that was directly opposite my own views on a particular issue.
That said, conservatives are likely underrepresented in this business at the reporting level, but are probably overrepresented at the editing and executive levels. That's probably the nature of the beast--people who like doing ground level reporting tend to believe in a more liberal world view, buying into the notion that social ills are correctable by communities and by government. Conservatives probably find less natural attraction to that work, but there are nonetheless a fair number of them in the business, and at this paper.

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Washington, D.C.: I had no idea that most radio DJs are so poorly paid. Now I'm curious: without getting too personal, may I ask how much newspaper reporters generally make?

Marc Fisher: Much less than you'd think in most places, and more than you might imagine at big fancy places.
It's quite common for reporters at papers in small and even mid-sized towns to make $20,000 or $30,000.
And I believe what I've seen about salaries at the Post was an average figure of about $80,000, but the range is quite wide.

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MD 20615: Marc:

Since these chats, your column has become a "must read" for me. Keep up the good work!

Realistically, where do you think we'll end up on this D.C. statehood thing? No one seems to REALLY care that 500,000 citizens don't have a vote in Congress. I am outraged, but I am just one person. Cynically, I think that nothing will really happen. (you know ... like baseball in D.C!)

Marc Fisher: Thanks.
You're always safest putting your money on nothing happening. That's true in life as much as it is in the District.
So if I had to bet the house, leaks and all, on either voting rights or the Expos coming here, I wouldn't.
That said, in both cases, we have the best chance in a very long time right now. The Tom Davis push for a voting House member for the District is real and should be put to the test next year. And we will either get the team or not in the next month or so. I'd make the team a more likely proposition than the vote.

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Washington, D.C.: You were a straight news reporter? When did you come out?

Marc Fisher: Hey, you write a column, everything comes out. Though not necessarily quite in that way.

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$80,000?: What about an average staffer at the Post?

Marc Fisher: Yes, somewhere around there.

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Rockville, Md. : Marc,
Liked your article about the sale of wine by mail. Another stupid law, not surprisingly on Montgomery County's books, is the county's monopoly on alcohol sales. The wine connoisseur bureaucrats make decisions on which wines are purchased for sale in the county. I'm not an expert, but I do know that the selections relative to those found in the D.C. shops are pedestrian.

I don't understand why the county is involved in this. I believe it is one of the only counties in the country with such a law.

Marc Fisher: I think we've reported that Montgomery is indeed the only such county in America to have its own liquor sales stores. It is a silly relic of another time and the losers are the people who live in the county. But I'd argue that they lose even more because of the outdated wine laws. Will the Supremes overturn those laws? Tough call--it was interesting to see the Bush administration running away from the issue last week; their supporters are simply all over the map on this one, so I guess they didn't see political advantage in taking any one side. Lick finger, raise to wind.

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Capitol Hill, Washington, D.C.: Marc,

You just praised Baltimore. What next, you say something nice about the French?

Marc Fisher: Even I have my limits. Why, just last week, I put down a book I was reading because it contained untranslated French. That's an automatic end of book ruling for me.

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Across from the World Bank: Marc,

Just wanted to say I love the chats and look forward to them every week.

I work at 19th and Penn. across from the WB. The security has been SLIGHTLY noticeably higher -- more police and my friend who works in the WB said the security guard who dozes all day now does it outside instead of inside. The biggest change is the NBC news truck now constantly parked outside my building. But why is the city blocking traffic and extending perimeters around places that weren't even mentioned in these supposedly recent threats? How is this making us any safer? Isn't it just freaking people out and making an already traffic situation worse? And ditto to the comment before about the machine guns -- they don't make me feel better and are a jarring way to start the morning.

Thanks for the chats! Go DC Baseball!

Marc Fisher: Thanks. The World Bank situation is an especially silly one. They've now closed off H Street in front of the building, presumably to protect the building against truck bombs. But the other three sides of the building face streets that are open. What is the sense here?

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Arlington, Va.: Did you know Don Imus and his wife have a ranch where children with cancer and that have survived cancer get to go free and learn how to be ranch hands?

Marc Fisher: Yes, they do some very impressive work and are enormously dedicated to it. My friend David von Drehle has been out there to help Mrs. Imus on a cookbook that I believe is being published to raise money for that camp and for those kids.

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Washington, D.C.: There was an uproar on U St. recently when the African book store was shut down. The owner claimed that it was basically a racist act in closing down a black-owned business. Does she not understand the law of economics in that if you can't pay your bills, that you will be closed? If the people who support her really wanted to support her, they would have bought books instead of wasting time yelling and screaming in the streets.

Marc Fisher: Exactly. I never got why that became such a cause celebre, and couldn't fathom why politicians would take the side of a retailer that just didn't pay their rent on time.
Of course the issue became wrapped up in the racial and class tensions surrounding gentrification of the city and that neighborhood in particular, but the bottom line is clear: They didn't pay and they're out.

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16th and U, Washington, D.C.: What's up with the Post enabling the martyrdom and victimology of Sisterspace? By contrast a white-owned book store across the street was priced a few years ago. What's the difference?

Perhaps the Post could also point out that numerous successful black-owned businesses have recently opened on this very same block.

This was a simple case of someone being in business not generating the revenue to keep up with rising rents. Happens everywhere.

Marc Fisher: I don't think the stories favored the martyrdom of that store at all. This goes back to the bias topic a few posts ago--I have no idea what the views are of the reporter who wrote those stories, Debbi Wilgoren. But I do know that I learned from her stories both about the rage of the store's owners and supporters, who felt that this was a strike against black entrepreneurship, and I learned that the owner of the building who is doing the evicting is a trust of some sort owned on behalf of a black man in Prince George's County. So people on either side of the issue could find solace or ammo in those stories. And that's what good reporting is supposed to do--flesh out the story so that folks can make educated decisions about their own views.

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Tenleytown, Washington, D.C.: Bravo on today's column. The truth is most of us in Tenleytown/AU Park understand that we live in a city -- we LIKE being steps from a Metro stop -- and realize that smart urban planning calls for something more on that valuable real estate than discount mattress stores, a pool hall and a Domino's pizza outlet.

Mayor Williams must understand that development along the Metro routes is crucial to the future not just of D.C. but of the entire region. The alternative is a stagnant city surrounded by miles and miles of sprawl.

People who don't want to live near a developed corridor should not buy houses along main urban thoroughfares and atop subway stops. The mayor needs to lead on this.

Marc Fisher: Exactly right, but sadly, the mayor and his administration, like many politicians, instead cave to small groups of very loud and overinvolved people. Rather, the mayor should govern for the good of the city overall, ignoring the ravings of the local shouters. The city needs a stronger tax base and if the people who live in a given place don't like what that means for their neighborhood, tough.

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Bethesda, Md.: Thanks for your column on restrictions on wine sales. It brings to mind one of the most egregious local examples of government intrusion in personal affairs: the Montgomery County liquor control board. I remember when Doug Duncan was running for his first term as County Executive and promised to end the county's profiting from liquor sales. So much for that. I don't mind the county government's profiteering as much as its sanctimony on such similar issues as smoking. Also, I'd like a little more variety in my beer and wine selection; having a state monopoly strangles competition and availability.

Marc Fisher: Agreed, but here's a voice from the other side of the issue....

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Gaithersburg, Md.: I used to be a bar manager in Montgomery County, and having to buy all our liquor from County stores at least offered the advantage of having to deal with only one distributor.

Funniest part was seeing that the chain restaurants with their own proprietal drink (like Chi-Chi's margaritas) had to sell their kegs to the county, who would then re-sell it to the local franchise.

Marc Fisher: Still, it's not clear just what social good the county is doing by preventing the free market from giving county residents a better range of choices and prices on alcohol. The government can still regulate the sales times, locations and other aspects of liquor sales.

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Silver Spring, Md.: On the baseball issue, why wouldn't D.C. be a natural for the sport to have a team here? MLB already has a problem gaining African-American fans, right? This wasn't a problem in the 50's-70's, was it? Maybe bringing the game to D.C. will get more high schools to play the game so that Wilson H.S. in upper NW will get a little competition for a change. Just a thought. Besides, if Angelos is right, then our burgeoning Latino population won't come out to see Sosa, Pujols come to town, so maybe Mr. Outer Counties would like to see his theory proven right ...

Marc Fisher: Angelos' comment about there being no real baseball fans in Washington was at best idiotic, at worst a veiled racist comment worthy more of Clark Griffith. Angelos can't have it both ways--either there are tons of baseball fans here who have helped to support his team and whose loss he stays up at night worrying about, or there are no fans here and Washington can't support a team of its own. But not both.
The truth is that this area would support a team easily, and that Angelos would lose some fans from Washington and Virginia and maybe parts of Maryland, but he'd also gain from the competition with an NL team for the hearts and minds of residents of the region.

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Double taxation on D.C. residents: Why are D.C. residents double taxed for utility bills such as cable, satellite TV and satellite radio. My DirectV bill is $101 monthly. And more than 10 percent of this amount is tax. THIS IS RIDICULOUS!

Marc Fisher: Heck, more than 20 percent of my Starpower bill is taxes and "fees." It's a racket. Many businesses face fees of various sorts, but they work them into the price, they don't lump them onto the bill to try to distance themselves from the costs of doing business.

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Adams Morgan, Washington, D.C.: As WMATA finalizes the installation of the SmartCard machines in Metrobuses, one of the last remaining places to use pennies is going by the wayside ... can we have a moment?

Marc Fisher: Another good reason to get rid of pennies entirely. Join the Round Off campaign.

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Orange Line in Arlington, Va.: Cops w/guns on Metro? You sure they're not looking for eaters and drinkers? I can only hope ... It's these "commuter terrorists" that are the REAL problem on the trains!

Marc Fisher: They're gonna need much more powerful weapons to halt the consumption of water and coffee on the trains.

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Arlington, Va. Yesterday, as I was waiting in a single file line to begin my walk up the non-moving escalator at Farragut West I had an epiphany -- Metro is ill-prepared to handle a terrorist assault on a station. (Despite the "high-tech" chemical sensors) Between the malfunctioning escalators and elevators and excruciatingly long repair schedules, it would be impossible for a rush-hour crowd to safely and quickly evacuate a station in such an emergency. All of the police officers in the city would be unable to assist an evacuation with such limited exits. Who, if anyone, is the right person to contact about my concern? Has anyone taken up this cause?
Thanks!

Marc Fisher: Right--just as it would be impossible to evacuate the city, despite all the mumbo jumbo about evacuation routes. We saw on 9/11 that it takes the better part of the day to get even the commuting workers out of town in that sort of situation. But I think we all know that and we listen to all the security planning knowing that it's mostly for show. Remember, people acted calmly and generally responsibly on 9/11 and would likely do so again if we faced a similar or worse horror.

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Washington, D.C.: Seems to me that with the new checkpoints snarling traffic downtown, now would be a good time to consider implementing a Congestion Charge as in London -- it has reduced traffic in the congestion zone by 17 percent and is widely viewed to be a success (though it hasn't raised as much revenue as originally hoped -- probably because it got so many cars off the street!). Don't like traffic? Get out of your car!

Marc Fisher: Good idea!

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AU Park, Washington, D.C.: Marc, I'm happy to see that you are still crusading for our libraries! How can we send the message to our City Council members who seem to think that the key to reelection is to maintain the status quo? I don't know anyone who is happy with the status quo. What will it take to motivate these Councilmembers to get out of the way of progress?!

Marc Fisher: They'll have to hear from people like you--that's the only way they can muster the courage to stand up to nay-saying activists.

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Washington, D.C.: Shouldn't the focus of rebuilding libraries here in the District be centered around increasing their budgets so that they can better serve their communities, rather than building new ones? It seems like libraries with greater resources may be better equipped to combat the outrageous illiteracy rate ...

Marc Fisher: Yes, but sadly, the experience of many public institutions is that they don't get the resources they need til they build something new. Any fund raiser will tell you about how much easier it is to raise money for a building than for any continuing program--it's just sexier, that's all. So of course the libraries need more continuing resources, but it may be that the only way that can happen is if they build new facilities that attract the public attention necessary to create pressure for more continuing funds.

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Arlington, Va.: In response to Olney, Md. -- occasionally Metro DOES do something intelligent. In my neighborhood (South Arlington) they run a 16Y route during rush hours that bypasses the Pentagon and goes directly downtown to McPherson and Farragut Squares. The buses are PACKED both ways everyday. Olney, Md. is right -- they need to do more of this kind of thing.

Marc Fisher: Nice to hear some praise for Metro now and then.

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McLean, Va.: Your July 29 column said that the family was awaiting a response to their home owner's association appeal within a "few days." Anything new this week?

Marc Fisher: I will check and let you all know as soon as I find out something.

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Arlington, Va.: I'm a wine lover, who enjoys trying all sorts of wine. I've got a piece of advice for the people who want to stop direct shipping of wine because of teenagers: TEENAGERS DON'T DRINK WINE! It's either beer or hard liquor. It's been a long time since I had a chance to drink underage, but it was never wine. There's nothing more I would love than to buy all sorts of wine from all parts of the country, rather than be restricted to what some wholesaler says I can buy. And I'm sure that the two wine stores in my neighborhood would love it as well!

Marc Fisher: Excellent point, and one that the lawyers for the small wine producers are making in court.

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Washington, D.C.: You could not be more right about the NIMBY's and the development of Wisconsin Ave. As a resident of downtown, however, I am not too worried -- all the development dollars Wisconsin Ave. turns down comes to my neighborhood. In 10 years downtown will be awesome and Wisconsin Ave. will be dull.

Thank you NIMBY's!

Marc Fisher: Ah, but it's not an either/or situation. Both could flourish--if only there's the political courage to turn away from the NIMBYs.

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Arlington, Va.: Have you seen the latest on the plight of our Expos? The N.Y. Times had a brief article stating that Selig told a group of baseball's bankers at the All-Star that he would not do anything to make Angelos unhappy. God forbid you make any decision that upsets ONE individual! Is that anyway to run a business? I'm still hoping for the best, but expecting the worst.

Marc Fisher: But there have also been reports in USA Today and ESPN that said the opposite. So it's clearly still up in the air. The city and Virginia could be doing much more to push the decision our way.

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Rockville, Md.: I was wondering ever since you saved the iceman's part time job, are you interested in 80 businesses Rokville is closing?

Marc Fisher: Sure--tell me about it. Email me at marcfisher@washpost.com

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Washington, D.C.: If the increased street closing after 9/11 where meant to protect us from truck bombings and we now have a terror alert for truck bombings why do we need to close down more streets?

Maybe I just haven't panicked enough today.

Marc Fisher: OK, you work on getting your panic level up to snuff. Meantime, we're way over our time limit. Thanks for coming along; back here again next week at the same time, and in the paper and on the site on Tuesday. Apologies to those I couldn't get to--more than usual today. Stay cool.

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