Potomac Confidential

Washington's Hour of Talk Power

Potomac Confidential fills the midday lull with discussion by Metro columnist Marc Fisher, who looks at the latest news with a rigorous slicing and dicing of the issues that define who we are and where we live.

Fisher was online Thursday, April 24, at Noon ET to look at Prince William's clash between budget woes and the crackdown on illegal violence, the politics of playing tag at local elementary schools and violence at D.C.'s Wilson High School.

Today's Column: Near-Adults Don't Belong in Ninth Grade ( Post, April 24)

From Catholic Schools to Charters: What's Left? ( Raw Fisher, April 2)

Fisher was online Thursday, April 24, at Noon ET to look at Prince William's clash between budget woes and the crackdown on illegal violence, the politics of playing tag at local elementary schools and violence at D.C.'s Wilson High School.

Check out Marc's blog, Raw Fisher.

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

Archives: Discussion Transcripts

A transcript follows.

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Marc Fisher: Welcome aboard, folks.

Will Prince William County have to back away from its pursuit of illegal immigrants because of the county's fizzling finances and the mounting cost of jailing the illegals picked up by Prince William police? Or should the county stand firm, no matter what the cost?

How should the District deal with kids who've been left back or dropped out of school for so long that they end up as 17-year-old ninth graders? Should such students be schooled separately? Today's column looks at the recent violence at Wilson High School and the city's struggle over its too-old-for-their-grade students.

Are you hockey fans now? The scene at the Abe Pollin Center Tuesday night for Game 7 was the loudest, wildest, most unWashington sports event I've ever seen. It was stirring and if you were there, it had to make you question all of your stereotypes of the Washington sports fan as an aloof, unemotional yupster who saves his passions for the office. Goodness, the crowd even threw water bottles on the ice after the game (not that I'm condoning such behavior, of course)--and not the Blackberrys that the cynics thought Washington fans would be more likely to hurl, should they be in the mood for tossing stuff out onto the field of play.

On to your many comments and questions, but first, let's call the Yay and Nay of the Day:

Yay to the powers that be at Kent Gardens Elementary School in McLean, who finally saw the light and reversed the ban on kids playing tag. Effective tomorrow, according to today's news story by Michael Alison Chandler, principal Robyn Hooker will once again let kids play the playground game she banned three weeks ago. It's a small step toward restoring sanity and letting kids be kids, but every bit counts.

Nay to the D.C. cabbies who still think they're going to change Mayor Adrian Fenty's mind and win riders to their cause by striking. The cab drivers plan to withhold their excellence tomorrow from 6 a.m. to 6 p.m. Exactly how this is supposed to endear them to passengers is not entirely clear to me. Perhaps one of you can explain.

Which you are welcome to do, starting right now....

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washingtonpost.com: 'You're It!' May Again Be Heard at Va. School ( Post, April 24)

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Columbia, S.C.: I read your article on over-aged youth in 9th grade classrooms. It is an issue not uncommon in many jurisdictions, but needs to be addressed to offset abuse. It definitely dilutes the positive learning environment when you have this type of classroom scenario, particularly when younger students are involved. Who can I can I contact about proposing some proactive programming concepts that could very well address this issue directly?

washingtonpost.com: Near-Adults Don't Belong in Ninth Grade ( Post, April 24)

Marc Fisher: D.C. schools chancellor Michelle Rhee is certainly very keen on direct contact with parents and others interested in improving the schools--you might try her.

It's a tricky topic--while hardly anyone would argue that it's good to mix 13-year-olds and 17-year-olds in the same classroom, it's also true that separating those kids who have been repeatedly left back or who dropped out for an extended period hasn't worked terribly well either. Still, my sense from visiting several programs that try to show older students that there is indeed value in getting their diploma has persuaded me that such students do need a different kind of instruction and that being placed with far younger kids does no one any good.

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Wilson HIgh: I've often thought about what to do when my elementary school-aged kids reach high school in D.C. ...Wilson is an option and I want your opinion. Has anything meaningful changed at Wilson vis-a-vis the recent media coverage of violence? Does it reflect an overall trending down of education at Wilson, or a mere uptick in a urban school that deals with the normal trials and tribulations of any city school.?

Marc Fisher: I don't have kids at Wilson, so it's hard for me to give you a solid yea or nay on that. I know a slew of people who send their kids there and report that the education is solid and that the kids make good friends and develop strong relationships with teachers. Many of those same parents say that the bureaucracy the kids face is daunting and that the level of instruction is spotty. In interviews I've done with Wilson seniors over the years, many of them say it was invaluable to be in a school with such an extraordinary mix of kids from all across the city, but quite a few have expressed regret over the limited programs at the school, the lack of rigor in some classes, and the sense of fear they sometimes had inside the building.

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washingtonpost.com: Cabbies Told to Install Meters by May 1 ( Post, April 23)

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Woodbridge, Va.: Good column today. When James Richardson was murdered (I forget which school he went to), he too was a 17-year-old freshman. I remember thinking that at that rate, he'd be taking 10 years to get through high school.

Marc Fisher: That seems to cry out for the kind of accelerated and individualized attention that they're giving at the Oak Hill school and at similar programs around the region. The Latin American Youth Center runs an excellent program for older students that I profiled a couple of years ago.

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Washington, D.C.: Marc, you raise some very powerful issues about Wilson High School. Wilson's an interesting tiered school, great programs at the top but safety issues and lack of excellence at the bottom.

What response have you gotten from Wilson parents before, during, and after writing this article? Many Wilson upper-track parents have the resources to pull their kids from the school or jump the line and move to Montgomery County. Do you think families are less committed to remaining at Wilson as a result of DCPS dysfunction with the 9th graders?

Marc Fisher: In my experience, parents who choose to send their kids to Wilson rather than move to the suburbs or shell out the big bucks for private school tend to embrace the school and become its biggest defenders. There's much more enthusiasm among parents for Wilson than for its main middle school feeder, Deal. But this latest spate of violence has rattled many parents and students, and many of the parents I hear from are at least as perturbed by the poor leadership at the school as by the incidents themselves.

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Downtown: Marc, it's time for you (and the cabdrivers in this town) to give it up. Under the ridiculous current system, a two-block trip can cost more than $10 (if you include tip) if it crosses a totally arbitrary zone line. Tell me again how that makes any sense?

I, for one, will not be getting into any cab that doesn't have a meter after May 1, and I know a lot of other people who will do the same.

Marc Fisher: Good luck finding cabs with meters. May 1 is now one week away--you can't really believe that a significant portion of the city's cabs will be equipped with meters in that short time, can you? Even the mayor has conceded that point, creating a one-month grace period before cabs without meters are to be fined or taken off the roads.

But as my Nay of the Day argues, this battle is one that the cabbies have lost. It's over. Meters are being installed. I don't like it, but it is what is happening, and the sooner the cabbies move on, the better for all. I still believe, as many cabbies do, that this change will have a devastating impact on the long-term health of the industry and on the availability of taxis in the District. But Congress made its power play and here we are.

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Zone 1: Marc,

It looks like the meters are coming to stay. With so many cabs getting fake safety certifications (according to your blogger pal, madcabbie) should we be concerned that the meter's may also be rigged to have higher than normal fares?

Marc Fisher: Oh, please. Yes, I'm sure some of the same folks who believed that most cabbies were ripping them off under the zone system will now adopt conspiracy theories about rigged meters. But just as most cabbies administer the zone fares honestly, so too are the overwhelming majority of drivers extremely unlikely to rig their meters.

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Bloomingdale, D.C.: You are a clever man, Marc. Your defense of the D.C. taxi industry has done more to solidify public support for the mayor's position that any voice I have witnessed in the public forum. I was initially surprised, and then a bit offended by your tendency to blame the consumers (riders) when merchants (drivers) actively attempt to dupe them. But now I see, you simply have a keener grasp of irony than I could have imagined. I stand before you in awe.

Marc Fisher: I'm catching those rays of awe and they are mahvelous.

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Washington, D.C.: Marc -- I would like to give a big round of applause and say thanks to the players and management of the Caps. Their last to first march, and playoff run brought great joy to so many of us over the past several months. I know the game 7 loss hurts, but this team is so young and so full of vitality, they will bring pleasure to all of us for many years to come. We now have something to look forward in the winter and springs to come. Thank You Caps!

Marc Fisher: Agreed. In any packed house at a Caps game, you're going to find a fair number of hockey novices, and that was true even at Game 7. The Caps' playoff run has certainly won them a whole bunch of new fans, and the experience at the arena was exactly the kind that will make folks like me want to come back for more.

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20th and M : I'd like to report some more unWashington sports fan behavior. I was waiting for the bus a few days ago and a group of Capitals fans rode by in a convertible. They had painted faces, wore Caps jerseys, waved flags and were honking and yelling. One of them was wearing a big bald eagle mask. It was fun to watch!

Marc Fisher: How do you account for this unWashingtonian behavior? Is this just playoff fever, or is there a strong underground of truly passionate fans who've been hiding all these years?

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Washington, D.C.: I have maintained the hope of being able to move my oldest, very academic child from private school to Wilson High in a few years. Have heard great things about the AP classes there, etc., and I'd love to save more money for college instead of continuing to pay so much for private school. But if fights -- or worse -- are regularly breaking out in the hallways at Wilson, and if there's an a general aura of menace there, I can't even imagine making the switch.

What a balancing act for Ms. Rhee, meeting the needs of kids who have so many troubles while also attending to the expectations of upper middle class families thinking about whether to try or stay with the public schools.

Marc Fisher: Yes, Rhee does have a balancing act ahead of her, but meeting those two sets of goals is not necessarily a matter of picking one emphasis over the other. Raising expectations for all students has to be a big piece of the solution for the D.C. system or any school, and the only path toward success that I can see for the D.C. schools involves creating marquee schools that attract the middle class back into the system through a focus on high achievement. That's not just for the benefit of kids like yours, but for the good of all students: Only by luring back into the system those families who are best equipped to make politicians focus resources on the schools can all boats be lifted.

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Gaithersburg, Md.: I LOVE LOVE LOVE David Domenici. I tutored weekly at the MAPCS from 1997 through 2003 and that was always my favorite night of the week. David and James Foreman, Jr., started MAPCS after meeting in the public defenders office and becoming frustrated at the number of youth going through the system repeatedly with no behavior changes and no one appearing to help them reform. MAPCS is a WONDERFUL school that caters to at-risk teens in the city who really want to succeed. Some of them have never had an adult they can count on in their lives, including a parent. To have teachers, counselors and tutors tell you, "You CAN do it! You ARE smart," makes all the difference in the world! I'm excited to see how Oak Hill improves in the next few years with David's leadership.

Marc Fisher: MACPS is the Maya Angelou charter school, a D.C. charter aimed at students who have been involved in the juvenile justice system and who have lost years of instruction as a result of dropping out, incarceration or being left back. It's the school Domenici ran before moving to become principal at Oak Hill detention center.

He's a thoughtful, energetic and impressive guy and from what I've seen, he attracts teachers who share his passion and his devotion to kids other schools have given up on.

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Bethesda, Md.: Should Prince William county keep it up, no matter the cost? From my perspective, they're running head-first and screaming right into the middle of "I told you so." Once again, Va. gets to point to itself as a shining national example of what not to do.

Marc Fisher: Well, one county supervisor is moving to back away from some of Prince William's campaign against illegal immigrants, but I don't see either a backlash from the public or movement on the part of the other supervisors--at least, not yet.

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Washington, D.C.: PG county absolutely deserves to be mentioned in today's article as unsafe for pedestrians. I live in the District, work in Hyattsville, and do not own a car. In Hyattsville, there is ample evidence that PG county doesn't care about pedestrian safety. I'll try to be brief: pedestrian walk lights don't automatically come on (like at E-W Highway and Belcrest Road), even though it would not affect traffic and has been requested; there are few sidewalks (can't walk safely from the Giant to the Home Depot, or across E-W Highway towards Riggs Road -- lots of pedesrians do because it is a residential area, but there are no sidewalks); most liberal -- 48 hours after snowfall -- sidewalk clearing regulations in the area and not enforced (PG Plaza mall is a big violator); little concern if construction forces pedestrians to walk in the street (twice in the past year work at the intersection of E-W highway and Belcrest road have blaock all four pedestrian corners). Just a few examples. But having worked here for 3 years, it's clear that pedestrian safety doesn't matter to the county.

washingtonpost.com: Walkers, Beware ( Post, April 24)

Marc Fisher: In general, what the study in today's story found is that in more densely populated areas, traffic moves a bit more slowly and pedestrians are therefore relatively safer. That's not exactly earthshattering news. Pedestrian safety is one of those areas where all sorts of policy changes are tried and very few work. What Arlington has shown us is that there is one clear way to make life safer for pedestrians: Redesign streets and sidewalks to narrow the pathway for cars and force them to slow down dramatically in congested areas.

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McLean, Va.: Marc,

What is the asking price for naming rights to Nationals Park?

As I was sitting there last night, looking at the advertisements on the scoreboard, I realized that the only commercial name that makes sense for the park is Washington Post Park.

But I doubt that Post Powers That Be will ante up the necessary millions, given the current state of the newspaper side of the business.

Marc Fisher: The Post does have one of the big spots on the scoreboard--I believe the company is the only locally-based business on the big board. But you're right--given the struggles of the newspaper industry, it's hard to imagine the Post forking over the megamillions it would take to buy the naming rights. I'd love to call the place Post Park, but my bet is that we will still have the highly preferred Nationals Park name for quite a while. This is a tough time to be selling a very high priced vanity plate, and if you think about the roster of independent local businesses that this region has lost in recent years, you start to realize how few prospects there really are for this purchase.

My bet is on a defense contractor.

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

I am submitting this on Wednesday night because I just got back from my first trip to Nationals Park. I am a diehard baseball fan, having traveled to about 12 of the current major league parks, and a diehard Mets fan that has lived in the District for 7 years. I tell you that because I am speaking as someone who grew up going to Shea Stadium which no one would rank in their to 20 of Major League parks.

Nationals Stadium is a disaster. I walked out of the Metro at 7:05 and didn't get into the stadium (not even to my seat) until the top of the 3rd inning. I paide $18 for a seat in the last row despite the fact that behind homeplate was empty again and, the section to the left field side of the bullpen was near empty, and I could count on two hands the number of people in the section to the right field side of the scoreboard. We were enjoying the game when I went to get 2 halfsmokes and 2 Bud Lights. I'm not going to complain about the price because I know going in it's going to be high, but to wait 20 minutes while people stand around and do nothing but say that they are out of hot dogs is unacceptable. I would like to get a job at the park so I could stand around, stare at customers dumbfounded, and do nothing.

However, the most egregious affront happened at the end of the game. In the middle of the 9th we started walking to the Red Porch to get a different view of the field. We were standing at the railing directly to the left field side of the Red Porch with two outs in the bottom of the 9th in a game that was essentially over and most of the fans had already left. But within a matter of moments an usher came over and yelled at us that we couldn't stand there. I have never experienced anything like that in my 20 plus years of being a fan. I really hope that someone changes the policy of not letting fans move up toward the end of a game. The Lerners should know that they are drawing 23,000 a game and should be a whole lot nicer to the people that are putting up with the drastic problems of their new taxpayer funded stadium. It is really sad but I am no longer looking forward to going to the park and actually wished they would go back to RFK. Sorry for the length but this is something I feel strongly about. Keep up the great work and don't take the buyout. We'll miss you too much.

Marc Fisher: Whew--tough review.

You're absolutely right about the long wait to buy tickets. There aren't nearly enough windows dedicated to walk-up ticket sales. Not even close. Last time I went, I ended up buying from the scalpers who work the back of the queue at the ticket booths. They had great deals and best of all, no waiting. There's an easy fix: The Nats have way too many will call windows, where nobody has to wait at all. Convert a bunch of those to ticket sales and the queues would be greatly diminished.

And you're right about the too-long queues at concessions. This is purely a service and management issue and should have been fixed by now.

But I'm puzzled by your complaint about standing behind the left field stands to watch the end of the game. I've done that three times now with no problem at all. Lots of folks gather there to see the last outs and then hurry out to the Metro station before the crowd. I can't imagine why the ushers would give you a hard time. Anyone else have that problem?

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Cabbie "Work Stoppage": I don't know how an industry that is viewed about as positively as politicians or used car salesman (depending on who you talk to) can ruin their reputation any more. However it should be noted that when you own your own business, you can't go on strike. You strike against your employer, so you can't strike against yourself. It's just called taking a day off.

Marc Fisher: Yes, that's right, but it is a strike of sorts--against the consumer. I don't see how this action in any way puts pressure on Fenty or the D.C. Council, except inasmuch as it might tick off people coming to town to do business here. But its main victims are the ordinary Washingtonians who rely on taxis to get around and do errands.

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Washington, D.C.: All D.C. cab drivers are crooks, plain and simple. I have never once taken a cab to my destination without those guys trying to rip me off. I've taken cabs all over the city 3 times a week for 7 years! That's over 1,000 trips! And can you believe I have not yet once had the proper fare quoted to me by the driver. Shame on them and the zone system... so unfortunate.

(I actually feel like D.C. owes me money for all of the overpaid cab rides, about $3,024 to be exact. Since $3 is about the average overcharge I've had to pay over the years, D.C. should repay me that money, but I digress.)

I'm so excited about the meters I just don't know what to do with myself. Whoo Hoo! Good job Fenty!

Marc Fisher: You must be a magnet for crooks. I take an awful lot of cabs and I can count on one hand the number of times I've been quoted an inflated price over the course of more than 20 years. There is a big problem with cabbies who don't quote any price at all, apparently believing that if they leave it to the passenger to figure out the fare, they'll get more than the actual rate they deserve. That's where the zone map comes in--the new one is easy to read and easy to figure out the fare.

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Alexandria, Va.: Worst part about meters in cabs? You won't be able to negotiate the price of a ride from D.C. to Alexandria/Arlington like you can now.

Marc Fisher: Right--or to the airport. In almost every case, the meters will mean higher fares. Obviously, I'm in the minority for valuing lower fares over the certainty that meters provide.

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Washington, D.C: Marc, you're so right about conspiracy theorists and cabbies. I've lived in D.C. for 5 years and haven't been ripped off once by a cabbie. I always calculated the fare in my head, and then that is what I paid the driver.

In all honesty, it just sounds like fear and racism. "This man has me trapped in his in car, has a different color of skin, and is asking me for money. He must be ripping me off!"

Marc Fisher: I'm not sure it's a matter of race--I think it is much more a question of the discomfort many people have with a system that is less than transparent and that requires a bit of knowledge about the geography of the city.

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Arlington, Va.: Marc -- help me understand how Red Top Cab of Arlington makes a go of it? They have meters, a sizable fleet of very new cabs in good repair, radio dispatch that always arrives as promised, even in D.C., and the regulated rates in Arlington are similar to those in DC.

But, under your view, they should be bankrupt or at least unable to attract drivers because of the low pay.

Marc Fisher: Easy--the mother company does very nicely because they keep a big chunk of the fare. That's why so many local cabbies prefer to work in the District over the suburbs--they can own their own cab and keep everything they earn, and even if they don't own their cab, they keep a far larger share than they would working for one of the suburban fleets. Yes, if the fleets move into the city, you will see an improvement in quality of vehicle and in upkeep. But you will also see a big, perhaps huge, drop in the number of cabs on the streets.

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Route 193: Marc,

University Blvd in Langley Park is a classic example of pedestrian fatalities waiting to happen. It's a densely-populated urban area, but the road infrastructure is strictly suburban and not pedestrian-friendly. The road is filled with jaywalkers, especially recent immigrants who do not have cars and did not grow up using crosswalks on busy highways. The drivers treat the street like a mini-highway, rather than a crowded urban street.

This is a part of the Metro area that badly needs better urban planning. Unfortunately, I doubt the local residents have the money, the clout, or the desire to pull it off.

Marc Fisher: University is a tough one, and in many places along its long and winding route. I regularly see folks going 60 along there, even in front of schools, such as Montgomery Blair. It is indeed a design issue. The road is so wide and seems designed for vastly higher speeds than the congestion and density of population really call for.

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Bethesda, Md.: The article on pedestrian safety was somewhat weird because a lot of the statistics weren't normalized for density. I'm not surprised that downtown Bethesda is the hot spot for Montgomery county -- but there's a lot of people on the streets there.

Marc Fisher: Good point.

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Hyattsville, Md.: Marc -- you're wrong that pedestrian safety measures don't work. Sidewalks have been shown to improve pedestrian safety but they are few and far between in Prince George's County.

Marc Fisher: Yes, sidewalks help, but far more effective are sidewalks that jut out into the intersection, as Arlington has done in Clarendon and as Montgomery County is doing in some of its downtowns.

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What is the asking price for naming rights to Nationals Park? : OMG, I thought the person was asking what is the asking price for naming rights to National Parks. Can that be far behind?

Marc Fisher: I wouldn't be remotely surprised.

The Waste Management National Mall.

Exxon Yosemite National Park.

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Sec 114, Row E: I've worked for Defense Contractors around town... getting the stadium's naming rights does them little good. They'll still have to compete for the federal contracts and the cost of the naming rights would fall into an "unallowable" expense category (I'm fairly certain of that). And all the rights would do would be to raise the awareness of the firms for hiring purposes.

Marc Fisher: True, but defense contractors and computer businesses that sell to the feds are two of the last big spenders on image advertising--somehow, they see value in burnishing their names locally.

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Red Porch: I haven't had a problem in the free seating area (by the left field pole), however I have had a problem if I have been too close to the entrance to the Red Porch seating, or if I was in the area between the red porch and the restaurant (whatever you want to call it) that is directly behind the seats.

Marc Fisher: Yes, and the ushers are properly energetic about keeping the aisles clear. And, sadly, about "seat discipline," the industry term for preventing fans from moving down to better seats.

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Washington, D.C.: The Nationals make a big deal about the number of affordable five dollar tickets available for us commoners, but they made it awfully inconvenient for famliles to take advantage of them if they are available game day only. You can only buy one ticket per person and you must enter IMMEDIATELY after purchase. So I can't go down early to get tickets, and we can't stop off before entering to grab a bite. But at least we can bring in all the drinks we want, oh wait we are limited to one bottle of water and no soda. Say what you will about Angelos, but at least he knows how to cater to families with genuinely affordable tix and liberal food policies.

Marc Fisher: The $10 seats don't have those restrictions.

But you're right, the $5 ones shouldn't either. I can see limiting those purchases to day of game and to require that they be bought at the stadium--otherwise, the scalpers would snarf them all up. But the drink and food limitations are just anti-fan-friendly moves, especially when the competition up 95 has no such restrictions.

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More on cabs: I have a negotiated rate with a local, private cabbie. He takes me home from work every night (I am a bartender) and makes less than he might with a random fare, but he knows I am always there. It's his car, so he isn't cheating anyone but himself. Will cabbies be legally allowed to turn off the meter for such things? somehow I don't think so.

Thank god the suits downtown won't actually have to engage people though. Phew. And we're a real city now! We have a taxpayer paid stadium AND cab meters!

Marc Fisher: I bet you're right that such private deals won't be legal. That of course doesn't mean that your cabbie friend won't maintain his relationship with you. After all, you're not going to turn him in.

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Washington, D.C.: Just back from 3 weeks in China and now have to negotiate cab fare. In every city I was in the cabs have meters, Cabbie starts the meter and off you go. You reach your destination and cabbie stops meter out pop printed receipt on which is printed taxi number, date, start and stop time, distance traveled, and in bigger cities GPS coordinates for start and end points. I don't need familiarity with the city or the language to get the correct fare. OH and the base fare is about $1.3 for the first 2 miles.

Marc Fisher: As I said before, I guess many folks crave certainty over lower fares. Whodathunkit?

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Washington, D.C.: Cabbie Work Stoppages. I'm in favor. You can tell within 5 minutes of hitting the street when there is a CWS, traffic flows, the number of double parked vehicles, U-turn into traffic, and other stupid driving tricks are down by 75 percent. And my trip to the office is cut by 10-12 minutes.

Marc Fisher: The cabbies win one. Sort of.

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Cabbie work stoppage: It's not a strike- - it's a combination of restraint of trade (anti-trust violation). Regular strikes by employees are OK because of the labor exemption to the anti-trust laws. The Justice Dept went after the Fifth Streeters a number of years ago for stopping work to get more $$ to represent indigent defendents. Of course, this just shows what a joke anti-trust law enforcement is -- sue the public interest lawyers and let big political contributors off the hook.

Marc Fisher: Well, luckily for all of us, the discipline among D.C. cabbies is pretty lax, so even with a strike called, there'll be a fair number of cabs on the streets tomorrow.

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Meters, yes. Fewer cabs? si.: Marc,

Even with the grace period, I expect to see fewer cabs on the roads, especially on weekends. I know a lot of cabbies who work part-time, in their own cars, during peak times such as nighttime in Adams Morgan, and won't be upgrading to meters anytime soon.

By the way, I take five cabs a week these days, (I work till 3-4 a.m., depending on the day, and don't drive) and I have yet to see one with a meter.

Will we eventually get a professional, corporate owned cab fleet in D.C.? yup. is it going to stink this summer? yup.

Marc Fisher: Sounds right to me.

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Tag in Schools: If one accepts the Duke of Wellington's belief that "Waterloo was won on the playing fields of Eton," then surely allowing kids to play tag is vital to our national security, what?

Marc Fisher: Right-o.

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Washington, D.C.: I only saw my first hockey game in October 2006 and now I am a season subscriber for 2008-2009. I've come a long way in a short time. I think the Caps management does a good job of projecting a family-friendly image despite the inevitable fighting that is a part of any game. Woe be unto them, though, if any scandals emerge. One dog fighter or steroid user will undo all the goodwill.

Marc Fisher: Tell that to baseball, which continues to set attendance records year after year despite all the steroids hoopla. Apparently, many fans have the ability to compartmentalize--hatred for cheaters and cynicism over owners over here, love for the game and all of its traditions over there. That's how we end up with certain presidents, too.

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And we're a real city now!: We won't be a real city until we have skyscrapers and billboards everywhere.

Marc Fisher: Which is a lovely segue to a plug for my cover story in this Sunday's Post Magazine--a bit of a fantasy about what Washington will be like in 2025. There's some really fun art by a painter who takes off on some of the predictions and projections in the story. And I'll be online Monday at noon to chat about the story if you'd like to come on back then.

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Washington, D.C.: Any thoughts on some MoCo firefighters earning 200K last year?

washingtonpost.com: Senior Fire Officials Raking In Overtime ( Post, April 24)

Marc Fisher: That was a jaw dropper of a story. On one hand, I love it when the guys in uniform figure out a way to make more than the politicians who tell them what to do. But my other hand is the heavier one, and that's the one that is appalled by the weak management that allows a firefighter to make $238,892 by working 2,000 extra hours in a single year, as Miranda Spivack and Ann Marimow report in today's Post.

First of all, how happy are you about being served by a firefighter who is working around the clock, night after night after night, which is the only way someone could amass those numbers. Second, what does it say about management when so many workers are racking up so much OT? Obviously, it would be vastly cheaper for the taxpayer to hire more full timers to meet the needs of the fire and rescue service.

Bad all around.

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washingtonpost.com: Post Magazine Discussion, Monday, April 28 and Noon ET

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W and M: Mark stated: "Yes, if the fleets move into the city, you will see an improvement in quality of vehicle and in upkeep. But you will also see a big, perhaps huge, drop in the number of cabs on the streets."

Your theory is preposterous. As long as there is a demand for cabs in the District; there will be an ample supply.

Marc Fisher: If we lived in a perfect world, you'd be absolutely right. But in a highly regulated industry such as taxicabs, in counties such as our suburbs where a single provider is often given a sweetheart deal or even exclusive control of the cab business, the laws of economics do not apply. Try to get a cab at Dulles airport late at night and see just how extreme the mismatch is between supply and demand in a system where the business is guaranteed to one company.

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Corporate National Parks: No, no, it's Exxon Glacier Bay or Kenai Fjords National Park (in Alaska). Strip-mining concerns get Yosemite, Yellowstone etc.

Marc Fisher: My mistake. Thanks.

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Naming right to a national park: Reminds me of one of the greatest April Fool's Day jokes when Taco Bell issued a press release claiming it had purchased naming rights to the Liberty Bell. Great over reaction by people who were incensed.

Marc Fisher: That was a terrific bit of marketing.

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Nationals Park: Marc,

I really like the new ballpark, but I do have to say that the ushers are crazy about checking tickets. Growing up in New York I would always move up after a few innings at Shea or Yankee Stadium. That will never happen at a Nats game. It's a shame they're so uptight about things.

Marc Fisher: I'm hoping it's just early season overzealousness in the new park. It's good for both fans and the team to have the lower seats full--looks much better on TV, and makes fans happy at no cost to the team.

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Alexandria, Va.: Wouldn't it make sense to keep ushers in place for the first 5 innings, and then, after that, let them go? Maybe keep one for every 3-4 sections, but just let them go. And let the fans that stayed for an entire game move to better seats? The product they're offering is terrible, the least you can do is let some people try to enjoy themselves. It helps build up fan support.

Marc Fisher: Precisely.

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Nats for Families: Yeah, but their family fun pack is really a pretty good deal, and the stadium is SO much more family friendly than RFK was (and I don't mean Build-a-Bear, but family restrooms, nursing room, etc.)

Marc Fisher: Good point.

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Caps Friendly: Yes the Caps do a good job and have always done a good job, partially because the fans themselves are not violent. Brashear and Colton Orr going at it is one thing; Seat 102 going at it with seat 103 is another.

I will add that I was extremely disappointed with the fans at Game 7 who were throwing things at the Flyers as they were celebrating.

Marc Fisher: Well, sure, it's dangerous and bad form to toss things onto the ice. But given the circumstances--Game 7, frustrating ending, bad officiating, end of a spectacular run--and given the fact that folks were throwing hats and empty water bottles, and not anything hard or dangerous, I'd be willing to look the other way on this one.

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McLean, Va.: The ushers at Nationals Park seem to have taken their demeanor from the Martha Stewart School for Schoolmarms. I felt like they were waiting to rap my knuckles for any perceived misbehavior. The ushers' uniforms need to be changed to traditional nuns habits. And they need to carry rulers or blackboard pointers to smack fans who earn their ire.

Sister Mary Elephant, anyone?

Marc Fisher: It's especially strange given that these are the very same ushers who were so friendly and lax at RFK. Training the staff is a good thing, but not if the result is antagonizing the fans. Better the training be focused on getting the food servers to move with greater alacrity.

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University Park: PLEASE not a Defense contracter name for Nationals Park, I'd like Navy Yard, our equivalant to Chicago's Soldier Field. The Navy sponsors a NASCAR team for recruiting, how about giving them a deal? TV shots could even pan to the Navy's display ship next door.

Marc Fisher: Imagine the uproar if the Navy or any other federal entity were to shell out the big bucks for that purpose. Yikes.

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M Street NW, Washington, D.C.: Actually, I think Exxon has already paid it's naming rights for portions of Alaska's coast.

Marc Fisher: Yes, well, in a sense. Talk about slick operators.

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Old Post Office Pavilion, D.C.: If you want to see sports fans acting very unWashington, come out to a University of Maryland event sometime. Football, either basketball team, soccer, lacrosse, the fans always get dolled up and rather riotous. Granted, a lot of them get massively drunk, especially before football games and act as bad as the stands at a Redskins game, but the passion is there.

Heck, Caps fans have always been pretty boisterous in our house when we had reason to. Maybe not Hershey Bears boisterous, they're just nuts up there, but we defend our home turf and should do a better job of it next season when the Sabers and Flightless Wonders are in town.

Marc Fisher: Yes, will this carry over into an early season Caps matchup against a team with no particular following around here? Hard to say.

And yes, the passion is palpable at many of the local colleges--but that's a whole different level of expectations.

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Round the clock: Gee, Marc, your clock must be smaller than mine. On my clock, a normal work-year of 8 hours days with some time off is 2020 hours, so an extra 2000 hours means 16-hour days -- a lot of work, but not "round the clock."

Marc Fisher: But you're assuming a five-day workweek, and that's not how firefighters work. In most jurisdictions, they work three or four days a week because their shifts are so long.

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Washington, D.C.: Marc -- maybe you could do a public service here -- can you explain to the audience how taxi fares will be computed during May in a cab that does not have a meter installed yet? That would be very helpful.

Marc Fisher: As I understand it, those cabs will continue to operate under the zone system until they have their meters installed. The mayor says you can report such cabs after May 1, but the city's inspectors won't enforce the sanctions against cabbies till June 1.

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Silver Spring, Md.: Marc,

I don't know who or where to direct this question, so unfortunately you are it! I get the dead tree Wash Post, everyday, in a plastic bag. Do you know if I request that it be delivered without the bag? Or can I give them back to the carriers?

Marc Fisher: I don't know, but you should direct your query to our Circulation department at 202 334 6000. I kind of doubt they'd be able to get you a paper without the plastic sleeve, but as I understand it, those are recyclable and, of course, serve other functions. We use them as garbage bags.

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McLean, Va.: Red Top should change their name to Red Herring. They don't show up for booked calls.

Marc Fisher: Ouch.

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Baltimore, Md.: An even scarier middle school story: Don't know if you heard about the Baltimore woman who was horribly beaten by a gang of middle school kids after an altercation on a public bus. About nine kids were arrested and the case got a lot of publicity -- especially as the injured woman was white and all the kids African American. The case has finally wound its way through the juvenile justice system here and the girl -- yes, girl -- most culpable in the attack was sentenced yesterday to a secure juvenile facility until she reaches 21. Only when the judge announced the verdict was it made public that the 15-year-old had previously been court-involved because of two assaults she had committed.

The kicker? The girl in question was, until her sentencing, student body vice president of the middle school.

Marc Fisher: That's quite a kicker.

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Arlington, Va.: Let's see -- you go to one hockey game, the most important game played here in 10 years, and suddenly you're hooked. Why don't you come out to Estadio RFK and stand with the Screaming Eagles for a game, any game? Something tells me you'd suddenly be singing futbol's praises and crying for a new stadium.

Marc Fisher: The atmosphere is not remotely the same in my experience, but sure, I'd be happy to give it another go.

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Arlington, VA: Marc:

I was at the Nats game last night and had a few observations. I think I agree with most people that the stadium architecture is nothing to rave about, but it gets the job done. The food at RFK could be called Rookie League when compared the Major League offering at the new place. One thing that really struck me was that only about 10-20 percent of the seats directly behind home plate (the $150 to $300 seats) were occupied. That can't look good on television. Do you think the Nats priced these seats a bit too high?

Marc Fisher: Yes, but more important, they have failed to understand the impact that those empty seats have on the TV audience. What would be the harm in doing what every theater and concert hall does and papering those seats--selling the empties for far less or even giving those tickets away to create a much more inviting image?

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Arlington, Va.: I got the impression that the Post story the other day on vacant houses in Prince W. was intended to mock the two self-appointed housing inspectors, but I couldn't help but see their point of view.

I was shocked a few months when I met a friend, an older guy who served in the Peace Corps, then worked for AID, and is married to a Thai woman, i.e., no xenophobe. He was visibly upset over the fact that his new next door neighbor, a Latino woman, immediately tore up the flowers, shrubs and trees (including some rare trees that cost thousands of dollars) so she could pave over the front lawn for all her "relatives and guests." He said that was the third house on the street for this to happen to in the past year. He was afraid to take his grandson to a nearby park because of all the broken beer bottles that now litter the field. He didn't use any racially charged or reptilian language to describe the newcomers, but just shook his head over how the quality of life had suffered.

Immigration advocates seem to want us to dismiss anti-immigration activists as nuts or closet Klansmen. I wonder if they ever say to their advocatees, "You know when you buy a house in a nice neighborhood and turn it into a boarding house you are going to drive down property values and probably break the law."

Marc Fisher: I didn't see that story as mocking the two women in the least. To the contrary, our ombudsman has received comments from readers who ordinarily find our immigration coverage to be too slanted toward illegal immigrants, saying that this story really captured the passion and good intentions of those who oppose the immigrants. That was my reading as well.

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Fighting a losing battle?: Marc, I have to say I'm SO fed up about the amount of littering going on by kids and young adults these days. On Tuesday I was driving home on Piney Branch near the Safeway at Georgia/Piney Branch and watched as some high school kids walked across the street and dropped their empty fast food containers casually as they walked. Yesterday driving east on Kansas was right behind a young woman with kids in the back. They were handing her something like a candy bar and she was unwrapping it and casually flicking the wrappers out her sunroof! Bring back those anti-littering PSA's from the late 60s early 70s! Honestly, I don't remember my parents ever lecturing me about not littering but those commercials had an impact on me (who can forget the Native American with the one tear streaming down his face -- and yes, I have heard that he wasn't really a Native American).

Marc Fisher: Do you really think the crying Indian ad had that kind of impact? I loved that ad, and it certainly won its place in the popular culture, but I never made a connection between its emotional power and any actual effect on littering behavior. Maybe it did turn a generation away from littering. But I think littering is a reflection mainly of the degree to which people feel a part of their community, and an ad doesn't change that.

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Washington, D.C.: Regarding the near-adults in ninth grade: Isn't this going to become a nationwide problem if "social promotion" is ended? But how can smaller towns find the cash to make a whole separate school for near-adults who can't read or add 2 and 2?

Marc Fisher: It's a whole lot cheaper than dealing with an ever-expanding class of criminals.

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Arlington, Va.: Dare I say it, but maybe a few children just need to be left behind?

Marc Fisher: Indeed they do--but the question is what do you do with them after you've left them behind?

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McLean, Va.: Hi Marc -- What do you think of the new Mike O'Meara show? While still a work in progress, I think it's definitely an improvement. One obvious change -- the mean spiritedness and bile are gone. We see clearly now that that was all Geronimo. And no, he doesn't get off the hook because of his personal tragedy; he was always a jerk. It just got worse after his wife died. So let's hope the new show continues to improve.

Marc Fisher: Sorry, but you're talking to a big Don Geronimo fan. I have high hopes for the new show, but you're right, it is a slower and more gentle approach, and I always loved Don's biting edge. We shall see. Or hear. Or something.

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Marc Fisher: That has to kick things in the head for today--thanks for coming along.

Check out today's Community Guides in the Extras, where I have an extra column on what it is we like about where we live--a good topic for our discussion here next time.

This Sunday in the Magazine, I present a couple of views of what Washington might be like in 2025. Come on back Monday at noon to talk about those visions and your own sense of how our hometown will evolve in the next couple of decades.

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washingtonpost.com: Community Handbook: A Slight Gap Where the Sidewalk Ends ( Post, April 24)

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washingtonpost.com: Post Magazine Discussion, Monday, April 28 and Noon ET

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Editor's Note: washingtonpost.com moderators retain editorial control over Discussions and choose the most relevant questions for guests and hosts; guests and hosts can decline to answer questions. washingtonpost.com is not responsible for any content posted by third parties.