text:
D.C. is hooked in more ways than we can count. It's time to get over our obsessions.
by Amanda Ripley, Eddie Dean, Michael Schaffer, Stephanie Mencimer and Sean Daly December 26th, 1997 August 29th, 2020
Shut up, all of you. You've said enough. Not another word on how Congress keeps our city under its thumb. Or the two centuries of political servitude ordained by the Constitution. Or how the control board can't solve our problems. Or whether or not we deserve democracy. And whatever you do, don't mention the guy who has dominated D.C. politics since 1978. We already know too much about him.
Not that we expect you to shut up. You who whine about getting the runaround at the bureau of motor vehicles yet don't bother to get off your ass on Election Day. You who scream at the meter maid on your street just because she's doing her job. You who say the city is a dump yet drop your cigarette butts on the sidewalk.
Everybody is on your case: George Will says you don't deserve democracy, Andrew Brimmer says your elected government is brimming with misfeasance, and Lauch Faircloth says you should move if you don't like the way things are.
You take all that shit personally, and for good reason: The D.C. bashers are talking about you. You're why the city won't soon do all those things Congress has mandated: trim its budget, restore services, reform itself. You're why the control board has done nothing after two years in office. And you're why your kids will carry on your destructive legacy.
The District will never kick the habit of you. And as long as you're around, people like President Clinton will have plenty of reason to diss the city and postpone voting rights, statehood, and other chimeras.
So, as long as people like you are around, the District will have to focus on eliminating other obsessions, like pinning our future on big buildings, romanticizing our crappy mom-and-pop stores, and Balkanizing our neighborhoods. We need to meet 1998 resolutely and get about the important business of driving WrapWorks into bankruptcy and putting George Michael out to pasture.CP
The commuting masses who shlep from Wheaton into downtown D.C. every morning endure a forgettable trek. The numbing half-hour Metro ride is unfailingly dull, punctuated only by fleeting above-ground moments. But the most grueling leg of the journey—the segment where time actually stands still—comes before the train ride, on the escalator.
The Wheaton Metro escalator is the longest escalator in the Western Hemisphere. As you peer down from the edge of the abyss, the escalator's rolling black crests look harmless enough. They churn drearily away, shepherding all the obedient people of Wheaton into the bowels of the station. As commuters step onto the moving staircase, their faces shift into automatic blankness. After all, the concrete and steel tunnel could not be more boring.
But do not be deceived. The Metro escalator is a fearsome beast that has resisted taming for the past 21 years. No other subway system in the country has so many escalators, just waiting to be fed. We have tossed money, children, and old people into the escalators' jaws, and they have just sucked them down, sharklike, without a trace.
Just last March, Darryl Jackson was taking the Metro escalator down into the Navy Yard station around 10 o'clock at night, when his T-shirt and coat somehow got sucked into the evil "combplate," as it's called, where the moving stairs meet the floor. As his clothing tightened around his neck, Jackson called out for help. A station manager rushed to the scene and cut the power, but Jackson had already been strangled to death. Lining up behind a long queue of plaintiffs, Jackson's family is now suing the transit agency.
Luckily, fatalities are not everyday occurrences on Metro. Each day, after all, some 275,000 riders shuttle merrily between sidewalk and station. But that doesn't mean their experience is likely to be a smooth one. Even though Metro currently maintains a squadron of 80 mechanics to tend to the tantrums of the system's 537 escalators, it's a rare day when you don't encounter a broken one. On any given afternoon, 40 of the escalators are shut down for repair, Metro reports.
Face it: It's time to admit defeat. We simply cannot handle the responsibility of the Metro escalator. Again and again, the beast has outsmarted us, putting our brightest minds and most innocent riders to shame.
Flip the switch. Make the office drones break a sweat for a change. Or send them to the elevators. Put in a ski lift, hook up a rope tow—do whatever it takes. But the massacre must stop.
The summer of '91 was a particularly grisly time for Metro. Over a two-month period, the escalators mauled seven people—five of them children. When a 2-year-old boy stuck his hand between the step and the side panel, the machine severed tendons and nerves throughout his hand. Another 2-year-old met a similar fate the same month. A 15-year-old Michigan girl—in town for the annual Future Homemakers of America convention—lost a toe at the Smithsonian station when her sneaker got sucked into the escalator.
The list of tragedies goes on and on: men, women, and children of all ages, brought shrieking to their knees. Since Metro opened in '76, the escalator system has been party to four fatalities and hundreds of injuries. Toddlers, prone to sitting on steps and sticking fingers and Keds into the infamous gap between step and side wall, are dropping like flies. In '91, a 3-year-old girl got her leg caught in the gap but escaped with a 7-inch gouge in her calf that sliced down to the bone. In '85, another 3-year-old girl died when the drawstring on the hood of her jacket got sucked into the escalator's treads.
Granted, hundreds of thousands of Metro riders go their whole lives without experiencing a single noteworthy escalator incident. But tell that to the friends and family of the 187 victims of Metro-escalator injuries last year. Tell that to the 72-year-old woman who, in '83, fell down a 94-foot-long Metro Center escalator after it stopped abruptly. When she hit the bottom, she had a broken neck, a fractured wrist, shoulder injuries, severe brain damage, and a heart attack.
And there are all sorts of peripheral casualties: a mechanic crushed while installing a 20-ton escalator, another man electrocuted after falling onto a fluorescent light beside the escalator. It's too much to bear.
Yet nothing Metro officials do seems to stop the bloodshed. And aside from a spate of falsified inspection records, waste, mismanagement, and some crappy equipment, Metro has done plenty. Motivated in part by a healthy fear of lawsuits, the people at the transit agency are now spending $49 million to replace shoddy escalators with sturdier models. They have installed brighter lights and polyester brushes in the dangerous gap between stairs and wall to warn riders against straying too close.
In case disaster strikes, they have placed emergency stop buttons on the escalators. First, they put the buttons underneath the handrail to prevent frolicking children from playing with them. Then, when the children kept getting eaten alive, they moved them to the top of the handrail, in plain view. Of course, then they had to install signs warning riders not to play with the buttons.
Over the years, Metro officials have spent a lot of time trying to stop idiots from being themselves. In '91, Metro held a press conference to launch its "Metro Wants You to Be Safe" campaign, featuring public service announcements on radio and TV, colorful posters, and more. Metro has posted signs telling people not to sit down on the escalators. "We, as users of machinery, must use it correctly and responsibly," says Metro spokesperson Cheryl Johnson, without a trace of irony.
But as Johnson well knows, put people around big, dangerous machinery, and they will immediately begin playing chicken for the highest stakes of all. Metro has compiled pie charts breaking down causes of injuries and graphs detailing quarterly averages. Metro's injury categories include "falling object," "pushed/horseplay," and the ever-treacherous "caught in combplate." The overwhelming majority of escalator accidents, the charts confirm, are caused by human error.
"We consider escalator safety a two-way partnership," Johnson says, sounding like a kindergarten teacher. "We have to do what we need to do to make sure our escalators are in safe operation, and we as riders of the escalator must not sit down on the escalator, we must pick our feet up, we must not allow children to play on the steps."
For a while, Metro contemplated speeding up the escalators so the sloths among us—sensing an opportunity for leisure—wouldn't be tempted to cop a squat on the steps. But the acceleration would invariably cause some of the same people to pratfall in new and dangerous ways. So, to protect the dumbest among us, Metro eventually decided to slow down the escalators from 120 feet per minute to 90 feet per minute.
This speed, as you must know, is a grueling crawl, just above the rate it would take you to walk the same distance on your hands. Suns set and seasons change while the escalator lopes along. And the average Metro rider takes almost four escalator rides per day at this rate.
At the Woodley Park stop, if you stand still on the mini-escalators as well as on the main event, you spend a total of three and a half minutes barely moving. The Wheaton haul takes almost the same amount of time. Metro recommends that you stand very, very still on these rides. And for God's sake, don't sit down.
But it's all in vain. The glowing signs at Metro stations offering escalator safety tips ("Never ride on the handrail," "Avoid cases of loose shoe laces") won't change our behavior. Just last fall, Johnson reports, a 32-year-old man hopped onto a stairway banister at a Metro station, cruised on down like a punchy preteen, and fell in a heap at the bottom, knocking himself unconscious. Says Johnson, "It does not take but a nanosecond for a terrible accident to occur."CP
It has become a familiar scene: You walk into a bar, and at first glance the place seems empty. Nobody sitting on the bar stools, nobody standing at the rail. Then you check the walls and get a jolt: Lounging in sunken, retro, big-cushion sofas are a bunch of nose-ringed, baggy-panted puds, sipping their strawberry-blond microbrews and generally sulking. Even a perfectly fine beer joint like Madam's Organ has succumbed to the trend, installing not only sofas but coffee tables in its once-stark upstairs poolrooms. The advent of couch bars represents the final insult of the theme-bar revolution, turning taverns and pubs into your parent's and grandparent's living rooms. Now ain't that hip? Beyond the implicit "irony" of hanging out in exactly the same posture as you would at home, the kids love the new setup because it lets them really relax and get some rest after a long day of temping. Whether these amateurs like it or not, drinking in a public house is serious business even when it's enjoyable, but this faux-frumpy furniture tries to make the ancient ritual into a supremely casual affair. It's the final degradation of the mead halls of old into cozy family dens for Zima lovers. Leave it to our solipsistic youth to hit the town only to retreat to the comfy couch, that symbol of spectator society, that refuge for cowards. What's next, water-bed bars? Doubly annoying is the simultaneous fad of hookah bars, in which these couch potatoes toke on designer tobacco and pretend they're catching a buzz. Hey kids, to have an opium den, you've got to smoke opium. You dig? And if you can't be stand-up about your drinking, why not just settle in at home with a 12-pack and a rerun of The Real World? —Eddie Dean
Early evening rush hour at Gallery Place. With a crowd of wet, tired commuters, I'm trudging from Red Line to Green Line, beaten down by the day, ready to go home. On a wall high above the platform is a piece of Metrorail decoration depicting a train rushing beneath the Capitol and the Washington Monument. The text reads, "America's Subway."
I've seen the sign dozens of times, and it always bothers me. America didn't just pay for my farecard; I did. And I'm going to take my subway, to my house, and have one of my beers. Not in America's city. In mine.
And I'm not sharing standard local prickliness about tourists. As far as I'm concerned, America's tourists are welcome to get lost on the Red Line to their heart's content. I'll even give them directions. But the reason I know where I'm going is the same reason the sign bothers me: I live here. I belong to the city, and it to me—and neither of us is the property of some camcorder-wielding visitor from Omaha, or his subsidy-dispensing senator.
In a Washington Post interview last spring, Sen. Lauch Faircloth did a nice job of articulating the "America's Town" doctrine. "The District of Columbia does not belong to the people who happen to live between its boundaries," said the senator. "The city belongs to the people of the United States." Local activists—and not-so-activists—denounced the chairman of the Appropriations subcommittee on the District as anti-democratic.
But it isn't Faircloth and other latter-day colonialists who do the District the most damage. It's a local problem. District residents have internalized the very model that Faircloth described: From rhetoric to iconography, Washingtonians of all political stripes are just as addicted to being "America's City" as Congress is to beating up on the District.
Take a look around: The Metropolitan Police Department seal features the Capitol building—a property the department doesn't even patrol. The D.C. seal features it, too, in the background—never mind that the seal's most regular appearance these days seems to be atop letterhead protesting congressional meddling in hometown politics. Away from the heated subject of political prerogatives, local institutions from universities to record labels to TV stations (why is Channel 9 WUSA?) seem utterly unable to cloak the pedestrian stuff of our daily lives in anything but imperial, federal robes. The Wizards may have changed their name, but the Capitals never will.
And our political rhetoric does more to deepen our federal dependence than to sever it. Statehood activists espouse the enclave mentality as convincingly as Congress does, suggesting that the District's unique federal status is the only reason that denying democratic rights to half a million people is unjust. Instead of cranking on about the absence of a vote in "America's City," how about mentioning the fact that we are Americans who don't get to vote for squat? Even the city's most ardent defender, Marion Barry, uses the words "nation's capital" so many times that they have fused into a single term. We aren't asking for any quarter because the feds happen to live here; we just want what every other city in America has: a hand in our own destiny.
The most absurd examples of the chronic substitution of federal columns for local forest come in efforts to depict D.C.'s decline. This year's New Republic issue on Washington's crises featured a cover portraying all of the national capital's old standbys: Washington Monument, Lincoln Memorial, Capitol.
The symbolism could not have been more wrongheaded. None of the Mall's icons has crumbled as a result of what's gone on in D.C. None of them, in fact, bore any of the consequences of the city's trauma. The memorials are about the only public institutions in town—unlike the schools and municipal services—that are insulated from it all. They exist for a different public, supported by federal money, patrolled by the National Park Service, and visited, by and large, by out-of-town tourists.
A similar piece on a crisis in, say, New York, would almost certainly not feature the Statue of Liberty. The statue is a perfectly pleasant thing to have in the harbor, but New Yorkers know that it is a national symbol—in their city but not really of it. A comparable story on Washington's crisis wouldn't even have needed an imaginary drawing to do that. All we needed was a photograph of the District Building. Just as the city's finances went into the drink, our own city hall was literally falling apart. But that building, symbol of a young city government and an unestablished democracy, isn't recognizable as a local icon, let alone a national one. No one noticed.
We ought to make it recognizable—or at least come up with something recognizable in its place. Political freedom requires cultural independence—and cultural independence needs its own symbols.
No one has come up with alternative ways to represent the city, in either word or image. Some folks use a map of the district. Two-thirds of a diamond, it is certainly identifiable, but maps—lets face it—are dorky. Others trot out the D.C. flag, whose two bars and three stars present, at times, an arresting image. Still, few state flags, let alone city banners, can be picked out of a crowd. Yet what else is there? How to highlight what's mine about my hometown, not what's ours about our national capital?
I came back to D.C. in June after a year abroad. My plane landed at National Airport, slowly descending before a panorama of downtown's monumental sights. Yet the homeness of home didn't really hit me until a certain turn onto a random D.C. street. Houses with front porches. Leafy trees above. Nocturnal silence.
I have always liked living in the federal capital. Political problems aside, it's got some amenities that can't be beat. But I didn't think about the Smithsonian when I was miles away. I thought about this street, these trees, my neighbors, and my neighborhood. And if our civic leaders want to move us—to political action, to civic pride, or even to just not throwing shit in the Metro—they ought to be able to evoke the District without pointing to some giant piece of federal marble.CP
Who is that idiot on TV raving about the Redskins, and why won't he shut the hell up? If you have to ask, you are one of the fortunate few who live relatively unsullied by the existence of Washington's favorite sportscaster. You simply turn the channel and go about your business. But for the rest of us, George Michael holds a perverse fascination, and as much as we try, we can't look away. We are hypnotized by the sheer odiousness of this ultimate sports whore. While fellow Channel 4 clown Arch Campbell is merely pathetic (his celebrity suck-ups can at least be enjoyed as mild camp), Michael is something sinister, a tannery-faced jackass forever flashing his Riddler's grin and slinging his cliché-ridden, melodramatic spittle. In the ever more adolescent, ever more bush-league world of pro sports—a Circus Maximus of spoiled dickweeds—Michael is the loudest sideshow barker of all, the commentator as psycho-fan. Awed by everything, he expresses the same foaming-at-the-mouth enthusiasm for a dog show as he does for the Super Bowl. With his rote interview opener ("How did it feel…?"), Michael coddles any local bum who happens to be in the headlines—an ego-stroking, talk-show technique that has snagged him a pile of awards and the adulation of his deluded fans. His syndicated program, The Sports Machine, with its ludicrous pseudo-gadgetry, is a truly sick spectacle, as Michael wince-winks at bone-crunching highlights as if they were mere slapstick. His broadcast crimes over the years are legion, but a few stand out: His shameless "interviews" with former Redskin and convicted felon Dexter Manley, brazen ploys to get an uneducated, drug-addicted, overweight dolt to weep for the cameras. His rah-rah "special" on Juwan Howard, celebrating the hoop star's college graduation as if he'd just won the Nobel Prize. Or his fluffy tribute to Mickey Mantle, during the Hall of Famer's controversial wait for a transplant to replace his terminally pickled liver. An emotional George—grin momentarily wiped from his mug—wished the Mick a quick recovery from "kidney" replacement. In a town with an overabundance of sports jones—Redskin fever that sees past any and all mediocrity, Oriole lust any time the team gets hot, and Wizard worship that has nothing to do with what happens on the court—Michael's relentless bombast is the least pardonable of all jock sins. To hell with the First Amendment—this tiresome fool finally needs to be muzzled.
When word spread that the 34-year-old Midtown Pharmacy in Adams Morgan was closing its doors in March this year, Pat Patrick, president of the Adams-Morgan Business and Professional Association, told the Washington Post, "This is like taking one of our limbs away." Patrick's comments came in a mushy article bemoaning the decline of the mom-and-pop store and the proliferation of ugly chain outlets. Unfounded rumors circulated that Starbucks planned to open in the Midtown space, and the neighbors were spewing venom. "I hope Starbucks or whoever comes in there goes broke," octogenarian Josephine Kelly fumed to the Post.
The Midtown's death came amid citywide hand-wringing over the "Starbucking" of Washington. Palisades residents caused a yearlong uproar over the closing of the MacArthur Boulevard theater and its takeover by yet another CVS, the chain that had already cannibalized the sacred Biograph theater. But all the gnashing over the death of the mom-and-pop store are the froth of mostly well-heeled white people who have the luxury of paying too much for toothpaste in order to maintain a certain neighborhood aesthetic.
What the hand-wringers often fail to mention is the reason many of those mom-and-pop stores are dying out: They suck. It's time the city faced up to the fact that chain stores are our friends, and that the good ol' days of mom-and-pop stores are as much a part of urban myth as the Georgetown Metro stop.
For six years I lived in Woodley Park, a neighborhood with a model blend of residential and commercial zoning. The little shopping strip along Connecticut Avenue had all the things you'd want from a neighborhood: dry cleaners, banks, a stationery store, ethnic restaurants, a drugstore, a liquor store, hair salons, a yoga studio, and even a furrier. What it didn't have, and desperately needed, was some place where you could grab a cup of coffee and a bagel on the way to work.
For about two years, an empty space next to the NationsBank carried signs promising "Opening Soon: Caffe Northwest." We waited and waited, and waited. After what seemed like a decade, Caffe Northwest finally did open, with all the trappings of an "independent" coffee house—the requisite local artwork, the used checkerboards. Finally, we could get a latte to go. It wasn't long, though, before I started dreaming of a "dependent" cafe, like Starbucks.
Caffe Northwest was a great incentive to buy an espresso machine and a breadmaker. Never in any big hurry, the cashiers seemed to turn over daily, and they barely knew how to operate the register, much less steam milk. The thorniest management problem for Caffe Northwest staffers was making change. On any given Sunday morning, people holding bills larger than $5 would be unable to purchase anything in the store. Change wasn't the only thing they ran out of. Frequently Caffe Northwest would run out of cups. Tourists from the local hotels, many of them foreigners, were completely perplexed by handmade signs with marker-drawn pictures of bagels that were supposed to illustrate the breakfast specials.
In that quaint mom-and-pop way, Caffe Northwest also didn't seem to have much of a handle on health regulations. They'd leave cream cheese packets out in an arty little basket—unchilled, so when you opened them the cheese would be sweating with who knows what kinds of microbes. Finally, the whole operation collapsed under its own weight and declared bankruptcy in March. The new "Cafe Internationale" that has replaced it is pretty much the same thing, only with a better soda cooler.
On a Monday morning this month, the MacArthur Boulevard CVS sparkles with new carpeting and high ceilings. Curling irons, remote controls, rabbit ears for better reception, salon-quality shampoo, picture frames, and Christmas decorations go on for what seems like miles. A few Hispanic nannies push strollers occupied by towheaded toddlers, checking prices on diapers. An elderly woman shuffles her coupons as she heads toward the checkout counter, where a man dressed like a Kodak box is preparing film for the one-hour photo machine. The store's general manager says it's doing "better than expected."
A guy named Randy who works in the neighborhood says today is his first visit to the store. "It's just like any other CVS," he says with a laugh. Not so for the members of the Palisades Civic Association, who are boycotting the outlet because it had the nerve to occupy the now-defunct MacArthur theater. The Palisades activists fret over problems with parking and fear that the giant CVS will sink their beloved 45-year-old MacArthur Care Drugstore, a few doors down.
The shelves at MacArthur Care are classic mom-and-pop, full of dusty items, hand-priced. The place sells granny underwear, a random assortment of medical supplies, and spiral notebooks. It doesn't sparkle, but it does have a pop, Ron Goldstone, head pharmacist. He is, naturally, a big supporter of the CVS boycott. "CVS doesn't do UPS. They don't have house accounts. They don't do notary," he says, explaining why customers love his store. "We'll match any of their prices." He says the CVS hasn't affected his business at all; the neighbors are loyal.
MacArthur Care may be able to coexist peacefully next to CVS, but it's unlikely that people will completely bypass the chain store in favor of MacArthur Care. Thrift tests loyalty. Take a critical item like tampons: Goldstone's selection is terrible—all supersize—and a dollar more a box than the ones at CVS. Goldstone is a nice guy, but when it comes down to it, who really needs notary services? People go to the drugstore for ordinary essentials. Therein lies the appeal of the chain store: When you need something mundane, the chain store gives you what you want—and then some—at a reasonable price. Store character isn't that important when you need toilet paper.
Disorganization, inefficiency, and lack of selection are the hallmarks of the nonchain store, but customers are supposed to put up with these things because they give a mom-and-pop store "character." Maybe it's a symptom of modern life, but most people aren't interested in standing around to chat with the bagel lady at Caffe Northwest while she fiddles with the broken toaster. They just want their food, dammit.
There's also something kind of comforting in the sterile efficiency offered by the chain store. There's no pressure for small talk, and the anonymity can be a welcome relief. Drugstore shopping, for instance, can be a most intimate exchange. For a teenager buying a pregnancy test, presenting the goods to the interchangeable unfriendly faces in red CVS vests is much easier than offering up the bad news to Ron Goldstone, who probably knows her father. There's no chance that a CVS clerk is going to inquire after your hemorrhoids in front of a line full of your neighbors, and he won't look twice at a basket full of Magnum condoms, Fleet enemas, and K-Y jelly.
Let's face it: The romance of the mom-and-pop store is mainly sentimental shlock that isn't based on reality. The Midtown Pharmacy died of its own will, not because of any evil chain store. Its aging owner just called it quits. The other independent pharmacies that have disappeared over the past few years are largely failing because of cost-cutting pressure from managed care, not competition from chain stores. And while MacArthur Care may be quaint and friendly, it's a rarity. The average mom-and-pop store in this city is a small corner grocery with a Class B liquor license. Some independent stores in D.C. sell the things the chains won't: crack bags, malt liquor, porno movies. Their profits come from pathology: lottery tickets, liquor, cigarettes, and a few items that make the food-stamp list.
Few people in an inner-city neighborhood would argue that their corner market is an integral part of the neighborhood fabric. They see those stores as blights that attract the criminal element, and the racial tension between Asian merchants and black customers in some of those stores is frighteningly palpable. When the new Safeway opened on Alabama Avenue SE, it was a godsend, not an invasion.
And you can bet if a Red Lobster threatened to annex Yum's Carry-Out, Anacostia residents would respond by making reservations, not organizing boycotts.CP
In a city of museums and monuments, Washington has always been sorely lacking in that most democratic of public art, the street mural. For years, the only impressive exemplar of this form has been the Marilyn Monroe portrait towering above Calvert Liquors in Woodley Park. Marilyn still looks great, especially lit up at night, and her presence may have helped inspire a graffito across the street shortly after the Clarence Thomas confirmation debacle: "Anita Hill." Few as they are, even worse is that the typical D.C. mural is nothing more than an artsy billboard, like the infamous cows-on-bikes fresco in Adams Morgan, which advertises not one but two businesses, Ben & Jerry's and City Bikes. But while this cartoonish, pastel abomination at least inspired a mild community resistance a few years back, not a peep has been heard against the city's most offensive corporate-sponsored mural. At first glance, there's nothing objectionable about the Frederick Douglass tribute on the brick side wall of the Swiss Inn on Massachusetts Avenue NW. Douglass is depicted in a nifty portrait, surrounded by scenes from the life of the great abolitionist, author, and statesman. The painting is well done and even features subtle renderings of the graying of Douglass' famous Afro through the years. Then you notice at the bottom the hallmark of an oppressive institution that Douglass didn't have a chance to inveigh against: the halo-glow of the Golden Arches. The inscription, "Sponsored by McDonald's," makes this so-called public art anything but public. It is a rank appropriation of one of the most hallowed figures in black America, as if the burger barons helped fund not only the mural but Douglass' extraordinary life itself. Sure to come: Burger King presents "The World of Benjamin Banneker—A Fun-Meal Triptych of the District's Unheralded Designer." Even spray paint is better than these shameless wastes of wall space: Where are graffiti guerrillas like Robbie Canal and Disco Dan when you need them most? Maybe they've found sponsors for their work as well. —Eddie Dean
This year's fatal shooting of a motorist by an angry bicyclist in Langley Park wasn't just a random act but a cataclysmic event in what is now an epidemic: Motorists—those once-mighty kings of the road—have lost the streets and byways of the metropolis to a cadre of brazen and often violent usurpers. Bike couriers, Rollerbladers, moped raiders, skateboarders, joggers, and pedestrians are swarming area roads like some plague of Spandexed locusts. The sidewalks just aren't good enough for these interlopers, who have been known to curse at, spit on, and now even gun down motorists who offend their sensibilities. Their fanatical hatred for the automobile knows no bounds, and it has found a diabolical outlet in a seemingly innocent diversion: the surging popularity of street festivals. From the suburbs to downtown, these spectacles are public travesties that seem to serve only one purpose: screwing up car traffic. Take the famed Taste of Bethesda, in which all the expensive restaurants set up expensive booths to sell expensive, minuscule morsels on paper plates to the hoi polloi. In Bethesda, it's not uncommon to have several blocks coned off so a bunch of wealthy punks can play chaperoned street hockey. Police (mounted on 10-speed bikes, of course) haughtily wave cars around the makeshift playground, as if motorists were the outlaws and not these Richie Riches on roller skates. In the District, the street-festival scene is even more despicable because of its multicultural pretensions. Events like Adams Morgan Day and Mount Pleasant Day are overpriced barbecues disguised as celebrations of diversity, as if a bunch of Pepsi-generation lunkheads could unite by simply gorging on kebabs and dancing salsa. The annual Taste of D.C. (along with its beer-tasting spinoffs) is nothing more than a mob of frat boys taking a break from their weekend mountain-bike excursions to spend a Saturday trashing Pennsylvania Avenue. It's time to pull the plug on these outdoor keggers and give back the streets to the cars. After all, that's what they were built for.
—Eddie Dean
Hunched over a tall table in a corner of the WrapWorks in Dupont Circle, a young man, maybe 30, is warily cradling a time bomb. This incendiary device, however, does not tick, tick, tick like a sleek nuke in a Bond flick. Instead, it squishes and squirts, perplexing the guy more than it frightens him. He lifts the blob up, checks out its oblong landscape, and peels back the first layer of foil casing like a forensics cop. Soon, a glowing green head emerges from the package—just what I thought: a goddamn Hail Caesar—and everything starts to make sense: The guy's a newbie, a virgin, a first-time sucker.
He cowers lower, his herringbone jacket bunching in back, as he prepares to devour what's been slammed into his brain as a healthy alternative to all other chain-restaurant fare. But it's a bomb, plain and simple, a tortilla-wrapped torpedo intent on killing off culinary imagination and bringing eaters back for more, like bloated zombies. He looks foolish posturing for consumption, like a yuppie trying to fly, but then again the rest of us aren't coming off much cooler. Above his table hovers the restaurant's cocky motto: "Feeding a discriminating human race." Welcome to the night of the eating dead. Poor bastard never saw it coming.
Before this guy gets after his wrap like Jaws after a lifeboat, I return my gaze to my own handful of edible apathy: the Kung Pao-Wow, an ugly little circus of chicken, peanuts, water chestnuts, scallions, and ginger rice in a sesame wheat tortilla. What a joke. I feel like a complete asshole every time I order one of these things—those smug little smiles behind the counter so pleased to hear me sing for my supper—yet I'm helpless, a pathetic wrapaholic. I don't even taste them anymore. I just order, cram the thing into my skull like a primordial wolfboy, and get sleepy within minutes. That's not healthy; that's German shepherd.
Sure, wraps are clean, easy, and readily available on every other city block. No mess, no harm, no foul. But wraps are also the remote control of the food world, perfect for folks too tired to get off the culinary couch and sample daring bounty. Wraps require no imagination whatsoever from the average eater but falsely promise to make your existence that much easier and healthier. Get real. This is fast food, folks—maybe not served by a smiling automaton in a Golden Arches visor, but mass-produced chow nonetheless. You know that guilt you suffer for lugging your stomach over the sinful BK threshold? The wrap-minded moneymakers of this town have convinced the masses that the only salvation from junk-food depression is a hearty, healthy wrap. Give me a break. Wraps are a gimmick, a novelty food, a tortilla hula hoop. Two words for those of you who expect to be wrapping well into the millennium: curly fries.
WrapWorks and Wrap & Roll Cafes are infesting our burg quicker than you can say "ubiquitous drugstore chain." While both restaurants offer similar rolled-up treats, one draws its victims in with a cutesy name (come on, Wrap & Roll?), the other with a cutesy menu (Hail Caesar, Coat & Thai Chicken, Carnitas Way, Ken and Barbecue). And each boasts myriad inappropriate ingredients to wow 'em into a return visit (spinach cheese tortellini, jasmine rice, slow-cooked pork, shrimp scampi). Whatsa Bagel recently cuckolded its chief staple and added a wrap to its menu. The Wall Street Deli calls its creations "street wraps," while Fuddruckers has just unveiled "Fuddwrappers." The 9:30 Club issues pre-show wraps (both vegetarian and meaty) from a tight sidestage window. Burrito Brothers, the Burro, and Au Bon Pain can hide behind the exoticism of far-off places, yet they too are playing the wrap game. (How else to explain those gorgeous tomato and spinach blankets nudging out the standard wheat-flour tortilla at BBs?) The wrap war is getting ugly, and the only casualties thus far are the unfairly hypnotized stomachs of District diners.
If you're wondering how the gospel of the wrap hit D.C. streets with such holy-roller fervor, look no further than the ministers behind the menus. David Castalano, manager of the Dupont Circle WrapWorks, is an unnerving blend of Jim Jones zeal and Dave Thomas charm. His life is one big pep rally for the wrap. When I whorishly mention that his wrap joint is the leader of the packed tortilla, he whoops and hollers and lets out a piercing, "All right!" We obviously share anaddiction, and that scares the hell out of me. Next time, maybe I'll wash down my Kung Pao-Wow with a big gulp of Kool-Aid.
"We worry [about the influx of competition], but we're more concerned with offering the highest quality of food," Castalano chirps. "We have a pretty good idea about what the people want…[so we] provide the consuming public a mobile meal that's very good for you."
"Very good" for us? Are you kidding me? Sure, healthy compared to a Filet-O-Fish, large fries, and a Shamrock Shake. But Dave, wrappers have forgotten how to live! They've been blinded by packaging, hype, and the health craze! Who so would be a man should not be a wrap eater!
Perhaps most of the blame can be placed on Burrito Brothers, which has seven outlets in the District. "I think we have an overlap with wrap places, but we've always been a Mexican restaurant," BB CEO/founder Eric Sklar says calmly. "We certainly were the first burrito place in town, but I don't know if we started the wrap craze."
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In Sklar's mind, Burrito Brothers is a unique experience that won't be underminded by a bunch of wrap-minded wannabes. "[D.C.'s abundant wrap restaurants] don't have a great impact on us," he says defiantly. "We're not trying to compete with them." Sklar pauses, then lets slip, "I think wraps are really just a fad. They're already starting to die out."
That's a stretch, considering that the new Wrap & Roll Cafe is opening outlets in Tenleytown and Cleveland Park (and has future plans for three more D.C. locations). Our only hope is that McDonald's will start offering wraps, exposing them for the limited-time-only fraud they are. Or maybe not. "Will people get sick of wraps?" asks Castalano. "Do you get sick of hamburgers? Do you?"CP


A study has been conducted to see the effect of Ivastimus (a preparation from alga Chlorella liquid extract) against radioresistensi parameters and some parameters haemopoiseis in rats that had been exposed / exposed 60Co-gamma-radiaSion, with an average dose and the dose of radiation that is really lethal. Ivastimu strongly increase the protective effect shown by the increased ability to survive. With a lethal dose, post-radiation Ivastimu increasing formation of endogenous colonies and restoration / repair and bone marrow cells / spleen mass.
We have investigated the effects of Chlorella on the excretion / disposal dibenzo-p-dioxins (PCDD) and polychlorinated dibenzofurans (PCDF) in Wistar rat feces. Tsenyawa dioxin derivative is added in rice oil (type of disease that is caused Yusho disease). Rats were fed 4 g of control diet or a diet containing 10% Chlorella oil 0.2 ml of rice during the trial period 1-5. Total PCDD and PCDF which is excreted in the feces of an experiment to-1 till to-5 rat groups given 10% Chlorella is 0.2 to 11.3 (PCDD) and from 0.3 to 12.8 (PCDF) times higher compared with the control group over the 95% confidence level (P < 0.05). We then examined the excretion of PCDD and PCDF in the feces 8-35 mice given 0.5 ml of rice oil. Before the rats had consumed the basal diet for 1 week. After 1 week they mrk jg basal diet or a diet consumes 10% Chlorella. PCDD and PCDF excretion in feces in groups of mice that were given 10% Chlorella diet from 0.3 to 3.4 (PCDD) and 0.5-2.5 (PCDF) higher than the control group. That is, the excretion of PCDD and PCDF higher in mice consuming Chlorella. It gives the impression that Chlorella may be beneficial to inhibit / prevent the absorption of dioxins in the gastrointestinal tract and to increase the excretion of dioxin that has tersebrap into the network. More than that, it also gives the impression that Chlorella is also beneficial for the treatment / therapy people exposed to dioxin.
Chlorella supplementation lowers the levels of dioxin and increases immunoglobulin concentrations in breast milk.
In addition to meeting nutritional needs, breast milk plays an important role in the natural defense for infant feeding. Dioxin has been detected in high concentrations in breast milk, raising concerns about breast feeding disorders in infants caused by the content of dioxins in Japan.
We have analyzed dioxin levels in breast milk and blood samples from 35 pregnant women in Japan. We also measured the concentration of immunoglobulin (Ig) A in breast milk and investigated correlations with dioxin concentrations. In addition, 18 of 35 women given chlorella supplements during pregnancy, and the effect on dioxin and IgA concentrations in breast milk were investigated.
Toxic Equivalence significantly lower in the breast milk of women who Chlorella consumption compared with the control group (P-0003). These results suggest that Chlorella supplementation can reduce the maternal transfer of dioxins to the child through breast milk. No significant correlations were identified between dioxin and IgA concentrations in breast milk in the control group.
Being is unlikely that the normal level of dioxin exposure through foods have a tremendous influence on IgA in breast milk. The concentration of IgA in breast milk in the Chlorella group were significantly higher than the control group (P = 0.03). Increasing levels of IgA in breast milk is considered effective to reduce the risk of infection in breast-fed infants. This result shows that Chlorella supplementation not only reduces dioxin levels in breast milk, but also may have a beneficial effect on nursing infants by increasing the levels of IgA in breast milk.
Constipation, have you ever experienced it ???
Folic Acid Supplements Necessary for Pregnant Women ??
Nutrition Less, Less Height Also, Impact ?


My dad is an avid cyclist. Actually he's avid for all things fitness and I can only hope to be as in shape as he is when I'm 63. He got my sister and me involved in biking pretty early and that soon led to bike trips. This is essentially where people pay money to ride hundreds of miles with hundreds of other people and then sleep in tents every night. As an adult, I've been confused by my friends who pay money to run long distances in races, but I recently joined that trend and even though I still think it's a little crazy, I'm planning to keep at it.
I believe we took our first bike trip when my sister was twelve and I was fourteen. An important aspect of the bike trip was training, because on average we would need to bike fifty miles each day, for six days. So my dad set out to get us in shape. Just so readers have a point of reference, my mom refuses to let my dad even attempt to "get her in shape". He's intense about training and exercise; he's been logging his workouts and exercise goals since he was a child, so it literally makes me laugh as I'm writing this to think about my dad setting out to prepare us for a bike trip and the thoughts that were probably running through his mind. His regimen meant long rides on the weekends and some training on the stationary bike. He would load up the Honda Civic hatchback with our bikes and we'd head out somewhere in the country to bike a planned route. My dad had these little maps that he attached to the top of his bike bag and I wouldn't have known if we ever got lost or not. We just knew we were going to bike until we got back to the car.
Getting back to the car was the fun part. Once the bikes were back on the bike rack, we'd drive to a gas station and my dad would buy Gatorade and a medium bag of spicy Doritos. And my sister and I would sit in the back seat chugging Gatorade and eating all of the Doritos. It was the best. I'm not sure why, since as an adult I never ever drink Gatorade and I rarely eat Doritos, but this is the memory I always come back to when I think about those bike trips and those training rides.
2. My dad has always worked late. He has a demanding job as a psychologist and after seeing patients well into the evening he would go to the gym, so this meant my sister and I spent lots of evenings alone with my mom. We'd often just stay home and do homework, play outside, or watch Rescue 911 or Home Improvement--which is really funny to me now because my husband grew up without a television and he's recently been watching reruns of Home Improvement since we don't have cable. Sometimes though, my mom took us to Beachwood Place Mall. Not for shopping, just to walk around--something to do in the winter I guess.
I tried to find a little history about the mall and its renovations, but couldn't find much. The mall is very different today than it was in the 90s. For us, the mall was very exciting because where they now have an open area with escalators, they used to have a fountain with a glass elevator that would lower near the water. Near the fountain was the food court, whereas today, the food court is on the second floor. We almost never ate at the food court because it was too expensive, or my mom didn't want us to eat unhealthy food and just told us it was too expensive, so instead, she would pack sandwiches in brown lunch bags for each of us and we'd sit on the steps to the fountain. My sister and I thought this was great fun--especially watching the glass elevator going up and down. Whenever I go to Beachwood Mall and pass through that area I remember sitting there, in a spot that no longer exists the way I remember it, with my mom and my sister eating our packed sandwiches just outside of the food court.
3. When I see mothers nursing babies I feel a pang of longing for the many hours I spent nursing Isabella. Isabella's infancy to toddlerhood was simply the best time in my life. I felt a sense of belonging for the first time in my life and I was proud of my body for the first time in my life. Breastfeeding and La Leche League led me to establishing my most valued friendships with women I wouldn't have met otherwise. Eleven years later each of those women, even though a few I haven't seen in over a year, hold a very special place in my heart.
I used to sit in a very uncomfortable glider I bought at a second hand store, nursing Isabella to sleep and singing Amazing Grace and Grace Flows Down over and over again. Isabella would fall into that drunken baby stupor, milk dribbling down her cheek while I soaked in the weight of her, and felt as if I couldn't bear to part with her, ever.
I think nostalgia shows up when you least expect it. It's so interesting how very small, seemingly inconsequential details, will immediately jog a memory. Last week, we were having dinner and Walter asked how my grandma was doing, and before I responded he said, "'bout half?'" because this is what my grandpa always said when we called and asked, "how are you, grandpa?" In the moment, I had to blink away tears and still do as I'm writing this.
Maybe after reading this, you can take a moment to remember the "happiness of a former place or time".
Last week Isabella and I were in the car together, and she was in the back seat because I don't let her sit in the front. I don't think I'm ready to have a front seat companion and even though she's eleven, she's probably not even big enough. My general rule has always been, no talking in the car. It's my sanctuary or something. The rule started when Isabella was a toddler. She was basically born talking and since I'm a fairly quiet person who is extremely sensitive to noise, it just made sense that everyone should cease talking for at least ten minutes on the drive to the library, or the grocery store. So, it's worked all of these years. My kids look at books or we listen to an audiobook, sit in silence, or very rarely, listen to music. But then over the last year I've realized I should probably allow talking because that's supposed to be a good time for parents to bond with their kids or something like that.
With the ban on talking lifted, it meant on this particular day that I got to hear about Meth and how it destroys your body and could very easily blow up your house if you try to make the drug. Noted. So far sixth grade has been most beneficial for learning all about drugs and alcohol in health class. I don't think she's learned anything else. And as I was listening to the riveting facts regarding Meth, I thought, why do people have kids? I mean, really, what is the reason? This also gives you a window into the weird thoughts in my brain.
When you sign up to have kids, you also sign up to be in a perpetual state of exhaustion, give them all of your money, put stress on your marriage, have stretch marks in places you didn't even know you could have stretch marks, and thanks to birth, lose your ability to hold your pee. So why on earth do millions of people sign up for this? And why do the people with kids get confused when other people don't want kids?
I actually don't have an answer. I googled: "why do people have kids" and it led me down the rabbit hole that is the internet, citing reasons like, "to give and receive unconditional love" and "fix the mistakes of their parents". First of all, Isaac doesn't even tell me he loves me back. When I drop him off at school I say, "have a fun day! I love you!" and he says, "bye, Charley!" and runs to the building. He also doesn't hug me, so the whole love things is definitely not a good reason to have a kid. Secondly, you might fix the mistakes of your own parents but you are surely going to make a million of your own mistakes, so that's a horribly selfish reason to bring a human into the world.
I got pregnant with Isabella when I was in my last year of college (which was actually my fifth year of college). Before that I had a surprise pregnancy and before that, I wasn't planning to ever have kids. I know, crazy turn of events. Doesn't make sense to me either, but something weird happens to the brain when you read those two lines on a positive pregnancy test. For me, after the panic dissipated, I thought what power my body had to hold and grow a life. And then I immediately fell in love. I am completely aware that it may not be this way for everyone, but with our first pregnancy that came and went so quickly, I fell in love, plain and simple. And though my miscarriage was extremely early, apparently these days it's called a "chemical pregnancy" which seems so cruel, I felt like a mom, instantly. Because what does a mom do: protect, grow, love, nourish...whether you're newly pregnant or the mother of three...and as I had a miscarriage, I felt I'd failed at all of those things.
From that point it seemed only natural to me that I would want to get pregnant again. I desperately wanted that life inside of me again. So I did, and I graduated from college about a month before Isabella was born. Two years later I still wasn't interested in having a second baby. I loved Isabella so deeply (and still do, obviously) that I couldn't imagine having another child and thought we were perfect with just Isabella. But after some convincing, I told Walter he had two months and if I didn't get pregnant one of those two months we were done. I got pregnant the first month. And of course, I fell in love.
But all of this still doesn't the answer the question: why do people have kids. I mean, I didn't have any good reasons to have children or get pregnant while I was still in college and planning to follow the path to become and English Professor.
Once they're old enough, they can get stuff for you so you don't have to get up and do it yourself. This is assuming they can actually find what you ask for, so this isn't always beneficial since kids are born blind and I'm not entirely sure that the male species ever recovers their sight. Literally, my kids can't find something that's right in front of them.
They provide an excellent source of entertainment. Kids are basically a built in entertainment system. From the first sound they make you're just in awe that they could do anything so wonderful as that little coo.
They say ridiculously adorable things. Like last week when we were at a store and Isaac said, "hey Isabella, when we get outside, do you want to play that game where we try not to step on the cracks?" Obviously Isabella rolled her eyes and said, "no, I don't want to play that game" in a disgusted voice, but she's 11 and has been kidnapped temporarily by monsters that I assume will return her loving self when she's about twenty.
Hypothetically, they'll take care of you when you're old. This is assuming you don't screw up their childhood.
Even though I tell the people in my house if they say, "mom" one more time I'm going to change my name or explode, I still love it.
Now that they're older we can actually do fun things like play games that I actually enjoy and have real conversations...about meth.
This list is not conclusive and I don't pretend that it comes close to answering the main question.
I never had a strong pull to be a mother. In my mind it's hard to believe we actually signed up for this job. Kids manage to drain you physically and mentally, every single day. They are literally the neediest creatures on the planet and always need food. But we get up every morning (and for many of you, multiple times each night) and do it all over again, pray we get it right, and love them as deeply as one can possibly love another.
Background: The patient, Isaac Kohn, is dependent on a soft diet (SD). This document is his mother's defense that an inpatient feeding program is medically necessary for Isaac (and any other child) to learn how to chew. Isaac has been in outpatient feeding therapy since he was nine months old. Prior to his current inpatient intensive feeding program at The Children's Institute he was admitted at age six to wean from the feeding tube. At the time of admission, Isaac was one hundred percent dependent on the feeding tube for all caloric intake. Upon completion of a five week inpatient intensive feeding program, he was discharged with a one hundred percent success rate of oral feeding in the form of formula and pureed foods.
Results: Based on a thorough review of medical journals, chewing, otherwise referred to as mastication, is vitally important to the maintenance and/or growth of spatial memory and cognitive function, oral health, development of the central nervous system, sensory input, social health, quality of life, growth of maxillofacial tissue, cortical blood flow, and hippocampus-dependent cognition. Additionally, the research shows that mastication aids as a stress reliever. Those who lack the skills required for mastication or have never been taught how to chew due to a complex medical history, have higher stress levels and are more at risk for mental health disorders.
Conclusions: In reference to many medical and dental journals, this article will defend the medical necessity of learned mastication particularly within the setting of an inpatient intensive feeding program when outpatient therapies have documented a lack of progress. Due to a complex medical history, some pediatric patients have been denied the critical stage at which they wean from a liquid diet to a solid diet. The result is that any given child in this situation has a decreased quality of life in addition to decreased development of the central nervous system, sensory input, social health, growth of maxillofacial tissue, cortical blood flow, and hippocampus-dependent cognition. It is medically necessary that these children have insurance coverage of outpatient feeding therapists and when outpatient therapies are not effective, that insurance recognizes the medical necessity of mastication and allows patients access and coverage of an inpatient intensive feeding program.
The patient in this article is named Isaac Kohn. Isaac was born on 4/13/10. There was nothing unusual about his gestation and his birthweight was normal at 6 pounds 15 ounces. However, shortly after delivery he was diagnosed with Severe Metopic Trigonocephaly Craniosynostosis. At six months he had a Major Craniofacial Reconstruction with Orbital Lobe Advancement which was performed by Dr. Gosain at University Hospitals Rainbow Babies and Children. This surgery took twelve hours. Isaac stopped breathing after being transferred to the PICU and was reintubated. That night he fought the breathing tube and his arms had to be strapped to the hospital bed. I believe this trauma has significantly impacted Isaac's feeding issues over the last seven years.
In addition to the post-op trauma, and four additional surgeries, at fourteen months of age, genetic testing results showed a deletion on the short arm of the ninth chromosome, a syndrome called, 9p-.
At nine months old, Isaac was severely FTT and he was referred to the pediatric feeding program at The Cleveland Clinic. During this program, mainly consisting of forced feeding, the family was able to delay the placement of a feeding tube. Unfortunately, Isaac's feeding did not improve during the feeding program and his progress declined which then forced the decision to place a g-tube. The family took a few months off of feeding therapy in order to adjust to the g-tube and a new feeding schedule. However, since the goal has always been for Isaac to eat orally, the family pursued feeding therapy at Akron Children's Hospital. Isaac had been attending feeding therapy weekly at ACH with an SLP for approximately one year when that SLP determined that she was no longer able to treat Isaac due to his complex oral aversion. The family then sought out an OT familiar with feeding therapy at ACH, who treated Isaac for two years with very minimal success. Eventually it was determined that due to the nature of his complex oral aversion, a different feeding therapist would have to be sought out. The family then found a new OT specializing in feeding therapy at The Cleveland Clinic, who did not subscribe to forced feeding as did the previous Cleveland Clinic program. During his years with this OT, who is also his current outpatient OT at this time, Isaac was able to make minimal progress in the form of playing with food and allowing food to touch his lips. In 2016 it was determined by Isaac's therapy team that outpatient therapy could not meet the needs of his complex oral aversion. In April 2016 Isaac was admitted to the inpatient intensive feeding program at The Children's Institute of Pittsburgh. Isaac entered the program taking 0% orally and after five weeks in the program he was discharged taking 100% of his caloric needs orally in the form of formula and purees. This was a monumental success and showed the value of an interdisciplinary team approach along with daily intensive therapy as the only way in which to meet the complex needs and overcome the severe oral aversion Isaac had lived with for six years. As stated, Isaac was discharged after five weeks of the inpatient program and moved directly to outpatient therapy in order to maintain his new feeding goals. At this point the g-tube was only being used for Zoloft which was prescribed while at TCI where he was diagnosed with anxiety and obsessive compulsive disorder, both of which were largely contributing to the complexity of his oral aversion.
At the time of this article, Isaac has been attending weekly outpatient feeding therapy for the last fifteen months. It has recently been determined that outpatient therapy cannot meet the complex needs for Isaac to move from his dependency on a soft diet, mainly consisting of formula and yogurt, to a solid food diet. Therefore, we have petitioned for a second admission to the inpatient intensive feeding program at The Children's Institute of Pittsburgh so that Isaac may learn how to chew.
We reviewed information received about your condition and circumstances. We used the MCG criteria for Recovery Facility Care. Based on MCG criteria and the information we have, we are denying coverage for the requested admission. You do not meet all of the following admission criteria: (1) you need intensive skilled nursing services, (2) you need two or more therapy types (such as physical, occupational or speech therapy), and (3) you need and are fully able to fully participate in at least 15 hours of therapy a week (such as three hours per weekday). Treatment could be provided at a less intensive level of care or in a less intensive setting.
I refute the denial on the grounds that historically Isaac's inpatient care is successful whereas outpatient care has not been able to meet the needs of his complex oral aversion. As related to (1) Skilled nursing is important when adjusting food volumes as these need to be closely monitored by the patient's input and output in addition to weight changes; skilled nurses are all necessary for monitoring changes as psychiatric medication is adjusted so the patient's mental health is not negatively affecting progress in the program. (2) Upon admission it has been determined that Isaac does need two or more therapy types. He is daily seen by physical, occupational, and speech therapy. (3)Isaac is more than able to fully participate in more than three hours of therapy per day and notes regarding his inpatient stay will show that he is tolerating all of the therapy services currently provided by TCI. Due to the intensive and interdisciplinary nature of this program, he is making progress.
Isaac's dentist, physicians, and therapy team firmly believe in the medical necessity and social importance of chewing. Numerous studies have used mice to show the medical necessity of chewing; health-related quality of life (HRQOL) articles have shown the disparity in one's life when due to a complex medical history they do not have the ability to pursue age-appropriate activities or self-care. One must also consider how a lack of mastication and decreased HRQOL will impact the livelihood of a pediatric patient as they develop into an adolescent and adult. The studies report several findings related to loss of HRQOL as associated to oral health, mental health, and social health. Additionally, reports confirm a susceptibility to early memory loss, and delayed cognitive function.
The vast majority of animals and humans are able to chew their food; however, some children are not born with the ability to take food orally and later, as is the natural process of growth, wean to solid foods. Solid foods require the ability to chew or rather, masticate. This is the process in which the teeth, tongue, and facial muscles perform the first step in aiding the body in nutrient digestion (1). Without the ability to chew, one must rely on a soft diet (SD) or a feeding tube. This is the reality for my son, Isaac Kohn, who was born with a genetic anomaly called, 9p-. Isaac has a complex medical history which has required several surgeries mainly focusing on the craniofacial area. Isaac's genetic anomaly is very rare, occurring in approximately three hundred people worldwide. In addition to Isaac's genetic anomaly, he suffers from anxiety, OCD, and I believe trauma from his past surgeries, all of which I feel directly relate to his feeding issues. Isaac is currently seven years old, and the research shows that "mastication has been shown to promote and preserve general health, especially the cognitive function of the brain, beyond its primary functions of food intake and digestion" (7); Furthermore, "the form of food fed to infants during the growing period after weaning is very important for the development of the maxillofacial area and the acquisition of stomatognatic functions" (6). Isaac is still in a period of growth thus it is important he acquire the ability to chew so that we prevent the need for another craniofacial surgery.
Aetna has denied the need for an inpatient intensive feeding program in stating that chewing "is not medically necessary"; however, the research refutes this stance due to the reasoning that mastication preserves general health, maintains cognitive function, physical, and social health all of which are important to one's quality of life (1, 3). We were able to win an appeal against Aetna; however, after two weeks in the inpatient intensive feeding program, our stay is up for review with Aetna. The physician and therapy team providing Isaac's care feel that he needs two to three more weeks in the hospital in order to make enough progress to discharge to his outpatient therapist. We feel that without furthering his opportunity for progress here at The Children's Institute, Isaac's quality of life, health, and stress will be negatively impacted by decreased mastication.
Mastication is remarkably important to one's oral health and "development of the maxillofacial area (6). As stated by Fukushima-Nakayama, et al: "Oral health consists not merely of the state of being free from oral diseases; oral functions, including mastication and swallowing, are indispensable for oral health throughout the course of our lifetime. In particular, mastication is necessary not only for food ingestion by forming alimentary bolus and swallowing but also for promoting and maintaining the memory function [...] studies have indicated that higher brain functions such as memory and learning function are significantly impaired by masticatory dysfunction as a result of periodontal disease, [and] tooth extraction" (2). Isaac's dentist has already made us aware of the negative outcomes if Isaac has to remain on a soft diet. We are told that he is at a higher risk of periodontal disease and dental caries; increased calculus; gingival inflammation; and decreased enzymes that lower oral bacteria.
It has been shown in experiments performed on rodents that despite their SD they are able to maintain weight and eat the same amount of food; nonetheless, "the loss of functional teeth for months impairs digestive and absorptive function by altering the maxillomandibular relationship and by reducing secretion of saliva and gastric acid" (7). Though the rodents were able to maintain their weight on a SD, "the weight of masticatory, masseter, and temporal muscles, which are essential to jaw closing, was lower in the mice fed with SD than with ND. [...] These results indicate that reduced mastication impairs the growth of maxillofacial tissue but not the whole body" (2). Researchers have also found "that reduced mastication induces micrognathia. Micrognathia can lead to malocclusion, which can cause further reduction in masticatory stimuli, establishing a negative cycle in the growth period" (2). At age seven, Isaac is at a critical stage of growth, and everything must be done to further the growth of his jaw prior to the intervention of orthodontics and potentially surgery. With the interdisciplinary and intensive approach of the inpatient feeding program, we have a non-surgical approach for Isaac's health. Additionally, as with the rodents used in the experiment, my son is able to maintain his weight, and gain weight on a SD. Aetna also argued that Isaac is not FTT so he does not need the ability to chew since his SD is meeting his caloric needs. However, there is so much more to consider when looking at masticatory dysfunction.
One must also look at the vast number of sensitive neurons connected to the oral cavity that "are activated during mastication [...]. The accumulating evidence suggests that sensory feedback from the oral cavity plays an essential role in maintaining cognitive function in the hippocampus" (7).
By studying rodents with the loss of molars or simply feeding them a long-term soft diet, it has been shown that "these rodents are less able to learn and to memorise" which "suppresses the overall learning function of the hippocampus" (7). Not only is "regular sensory stimulation from the masticatory organ" important due to its effect on "hippocampal neurons, which are essential in the learning process" but it has been shown that with those same rodents, when able to regain masticatory function, either through dental work or a move to a regular diet, they were able to recover their learning ability (7). This gives me hope that any damage from delayed mastication is reversible.
It has been suggested in the study of rodents, that there is a link between mastication and hippocampal function. "Recent studies using functional brain imaging support the hypothesis that mastication enhances brain function, [...] there may exist some mastication-specific neuronal mechanism contributing to the maintenance or the improvement in learning and memory functions" (7). Further study of mice shows that "a soft diet suppresses hippocampal neurogenesis, while subsequent hard diet feeding improves neurogenesis" (1). It appears that the brain requires the ability to absorb and process more than one sensory input to the cortical regions connected with the hippocampus and "the PFC is one of these cortical areas, and it plays an especially important role in learning arbitrary associations between sensory cues and determining voluntary actions to accomplish a task. As both animal and human studies indicate that the primary motor area for the face undergoes neuroplastic changes in association with oro-facial motor learning or an altered oral environment, mastication might modulate the PFC as as the hippocampus to improve cognitive function" (7). It has been collectively shown in the research that "reduced mastication was shown to result in neuronal dysfunction, reducing neuronal activity and synapse formation" (2).
Have you ever wondered why you reach for a bag of chips, or bite your nails, or clench your teeth when you feel stressed? "Stress-related disease has become a global health problem. Mastication is an effective behavior for coping with stress, likely due to the alterations chewing causes in the activity of the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal axis" (3). Thus, studies show that "animals provided the opportunity to chew or bite wooden sticks during immobilization or restraint stress exhibit decreases in stress-induced plasma corticosterone levels and attenuated HPA axis and autonomic nervous system responses to stress, which helps to prevent the stress-induced formation of gastric ulcers, deficits in spatial learning ability, and bone loss" (3). The more one is exposed to stress the more likely they are to exhibit anxiety and mood disorders (3). It would seem that someone who is born with a genetic anomaly and regularly faces challenges beyond their control would be exposed to more stress than the ordinary individual. The inability to keep up with one's peers seems like it would cause a great amount of stress as one develops into an adolescent. An individual such as Isaac, who is able to learn along with his peers in a typical classroom, but is not able to eat along with his peers due a severe masticatory dysfunction and the need for a specific, pureed diet most of which is reliant on formula, would feel an immense amount of stress as this major difference affects his social and health-related quality of life into adolescence and adulthood.
A study by Nose-Ishibashi, et al, examines the relationship between a soft diet and how it potentially increases a vulnerability to mental disorders in writing, "mastication is one of the most important oral functions, and the period during which mastication is acquired overlaps with the term of rapid development and maturation of the neural systems. In particular, the acquisition period after weaning is related to the potential onset of mental disorders. [...] Compared to mice fed a hard diet, soft-diet mice showed behavioral impairments, including decreased home cage activity, increased open field test activity, and deficits in prepulse inhibition" (5). In terms of Isaac's case, he is already diagnosed with anxiety and OCD and is under the care of a psychiatrist and a psychologist at The Children's Institute. With the interdisciplinary team approach they are able to closely observe Isaac's mental health. Due to his propensity to mental health issues, mastication seems imperative so that he has an inherent way to treat stressful situations. Furthermore, studies of the mice show that a long-term SD affect the mental developmental of mice which then increases the vulnerability to mental disorders (5). Now is the time to stave off any further mental health issues, and the development of mastication seems like a common sense approach.
The food my son is eating is not developmentally appropriate. Isaac is seven years old and relies on formula for 1200 calories of his 1800-2000 calories per day. His preferred food is yogurt, and when the family has to be away from home, he eats a large quantity of yogurt due to the stress of feeding non-preferred foods. In terms of HRQL, Isaac eats his meals in the school clinic and is unable to join his peers due to the difficult task of simply eating a puree and drinking formula.
Historically, Isaac has responded to the inpatient intensive feeding program with a one hundred percent success rate. This is remarkable considering he has a complex medical history including a severe oral aversion and was not admitted to the program to wean from the feeding tube until he was six years old. Isaac responds incredibly well to the intensive environment and due to his lack of coordination and oral motor control, he has several therapies each day to focus on the discipline of learned mastication. Unfortunately, mastication did not happen naturally for Isaac and he is at The Children's Institute working incredibly hard to learn this vital skill to enhance his HRQL, spatial learning, memory function, and cognitive ability.
I want my children to have every opportunity to reach their greatest potential. Just because Isaac was born with special needs doesn't mean he should be treated any less than any other individual. His outpatient therapist has already shown that weekly therapy is not enough for Isaac to learn how to chew. After only two weeks The Children's Institute, Isaac is showing more progress than he has in the last fifteen months. This should prove to Aetna that this is working, and with a few more weeks of inpatient Isaac will reach a point where he can continue this success in outpatient treatment.
The research regarding the medical necessity of chewing is undeniable. Anyone who has read a medical or dental journal in the last ten years would be overwhelmed by the data showing the importance of mastication--not only in association with oral health, but also cognitive function, mental health, and appropriate craniofacial growth. Therefore, I request that Aetna not only extend our inpatient stay at The Children's Institute so that Isaac can continue his progress, but also recognize for future patients that chewing (mastication) is medically necessary.
Azuma, Kagaku, Zhou, Q., Niwa, M., and Kubo, K. (2017). Association Between Mastication, the Hippocampus, and the HPA Axis: a comprehensive review. International Journal of Molecular Sciences, 18, 1687.
Fukushima-Nakayama, Ono, T., Hayashi, M., Inoue, M., Wake, H., Ono, T., and Nakashima, T. (2017). Reduced Mastication Impairs Memory Function. Journal of Dental Research, 96, 1058-1066.
McCarty, Janet, and Hasselkus, Amy (2019). Pediatric Swallowing Treatment Coverage. The ASHA Leader, 14, 3-8.
Nose-Ishibashi, K., Watahiki, J., Yamada, K., Maekawa, M., Watanabe, A., Yamamoto, G., Enomoto, A., Matsuba, Y., Nampo, T., Taguchi, T., Ichikawa, Y., Saido, T.C., Mishima, K., Yamaguchi, Y., Yoshikawa, T., and Maki, K. (2014). Soft-Diet Feeding After Weaning Affects Behavior in Mice: potential increase in vulnerability to mental disorders. Neuroscience, 263, 257-268.
Okihara, Hidemasa, Ito, J., Kokai, S., Ishida, T., Hiranuma, M., Kato, C., Yabushita, T., Ishida, K., Ono, T., and Michikawa, M. (2014). Liquid Diet Induces Memory Impairment Accompanied by a Decreased Number of Hippocampal Neurons in Mice. Journal of Neuroscience Research, 92, 1010-1017.
Ono, Y., Yamamoto, T., Kubo, K., and Onozuka, M. (2010). Occlusion and brain function: mastication as a prevention of cognitive dysfunction. Journal of Oral Rehabilitation, 37, 624-640.
The first day of school is next week and suddenly I felt like I needed to start preparing Isaac. Last night I got into bed with him and started on my spiel about how we handle situations that make us mad and what to do if someone says something that isn't nice. Isaac doesn't like when people bump into him, or even accidentally brush up against him--this makes carpet time and standing in line particularly challenging. He seemed to understand that yelling isn't the right path, though we'll see how it goes when all of this is put into practice. Out of nowhere he started talking about a girl he liked at school and all about how he asked her to be his friend and that his heart thumped out of his chest when he saw her go down the slide—to show me this he joined his hands over his heart and pulled them away from his body and back in. And it dawned on me that I always pray for Isaac to have friends, or even just one buddy, because we've never known if he would be able to understand love and relationship the way we do. But I'm finding that as he develops he is starting to understand emotions and is expressing compassion in ways he never did before. Sometimes he even volunteers a hug which is always a special moment for me.
About a month ago, I rested my head on my arms against the kitchen counter and Isaac said, "you have a headache?" I was shocked. He's never asked or seemed to empathize with another's feelings or emotions. This was an incredible first. Since then he has asked me if I felt sad, and another time, if I was angry. This is really exciting progress as it shows me that his realm of understanding emotions is broadening. Perhaps this will even help him express his own feelings since to this day, when he is upset, language is the first skill to go.
As Isaac talked about the little girl who made his heart swell, I knew that I needed to start praying for his future life partner and for Isaac's sweet innocence. I think my son will be able to understand love and heartache, and passion and pleasure. It makes me happy to think that he may some day have a meaningful relationship with someone outside of our family. Since the day Isaac was diagnosed, I was saddened by what might be a lack of friendship and quality relationships in his life. But we have seen glimpses of possibility, and because relationship is central to being human, this makes me so happy.
Today we made our way to Port Clyde and went back to the little beach at Owl's Head since we loved it so much. I'd wanted to go back to Rockland to see if the local art shop was open, but Isaac was done for the day and insisted we head back to the house. He's been super flexible on this trip, so we ended the day's adventure and came home to relax which was needed anyway.
Drift-in Beach--the tide was in so we only stopped for a few minutes.
I try not to get a tan. As you can see, my legs reflect the sun. Only cool people are proud of this.
I have to take pictures of myself so it looks like I was on this vacation, too.
All I keep thinking on this trip, is that Isaac has come so far and this allows us to do some things that we used to avoid. Yesterday we were able to go kayaking as a family and I talked to Isaac beforehand about how brave he would have to be since the kayak would rock a little bit. He said, "okay, I try" and handled the whole experience beautifully. Isabella, our born explorer and adventurer, took charge of her own kayak. She had one moment of panic after discovering a spider in her kayak, but was able to work through that issue. As for me, water in general makes me anxious and I was trying not to worry about the kids drowning for most of our kayak trip, but everything went well--no one tipped over, and we all made it back to shore unscathed--except for that spider.
As you'll see in the photos, Charley is with us on this vacation. It's one of our first vacations including a dog and I couldn't be happier. Stella is at home in Ohio enjoying having the run of our house while my mother-in-law takes care of her. Charley did well on the fourteen hour drive. We tried to block him in the back of the van, but he seems to think his head should be between the driver and passenger seat and creates his own third seat (just for his head). The kids did very well and for the most part we were able to maintain Isaac's meal schedule. It's so hard to stick to that schedule when we are away from home and unfortunately, the change in his routine is causing some very frustrating meal-time issues, but that was to be expected.
In the evening went found a little beach area where because the tide was out, we could walk out to the little island to the left.
Isaac stayed in pretty much the same spot the whole time, but he's becoming more interested in exploring.
Random spot where we stopped to check the map on our way to Owl's Head Lighthouse.
Beach area where we spent a while looking for shells and sea glass. I loved this beach area. The rock formations are so interesting and I like looking at how the shadows fall along the crevices. I'll have lots of material for my next watercolor class.
In Rockland. By this point Charley is tired of wandering around a small town and decided to lie down in a flower bed--oops! I went to Over the Rainbow Yarn Shop and can't wait to start some new projects with Maine-made yarn!
Outside the Andrew Wyeth Museum. I'd like to go back. We didn't have enough time to actually go in the museum.
Hike to Mt. Battie. Everyone was exhausted and sweaty since it was a very steep climb. I was worried about Isaac but he was a trooper. By this point we were all getting a little slap-happy and then a little angry. Unfortunately, even with the steep climb, we didn't make it to the top since we lost the trail. Walter went back for the car and we then drove the .5 miles left to the summit.
By this point I'm angry at Mt. Battie, and reluctantly took these photos. Isaac sat in the car and refused to get out--ha!
Everyone earned some ice cream, so we stopped in Rockport at River Ducks Ice Cream.
Ironically enough, I think Isaac is the only sleeping well on this trip. He's been snoring so loudly that Isabella has been sleeping on the couch in the living-room.


4-nt Nile Cruise Priced from $2,895 per person in a double room This Egypt tour is guaranteed to operate with a minimum of 2 passengers.
Visit the pyramids, the Sphinx, and the Solar Boat on the Giza Plateau. Continue to Memphis.
Fly from Cairo to Luxor. The balance of the day is at leisure in Luxor.
All of our overland tours in Egypt are privately escorted. Touring from Nile cruises is done in small groups. For a supplemental fee, we will send your private guide with you on the Nile cruise.
The temple at Kom Ombo is unusual in that it is perfectly symmetrical. One side is dedicated to the god Horus and the other to the god Sobek.
Because of his connection to the life-giving Nile and its murky depths, the crocodile god Sobek was associated with creation and fertility.
In some places, crocodiles were revered and even tamed, in other places, they were hunted and killed.
Price to be accompanied by your private guide on the Nile cruise: $1,550 per travel party.
• 3 lunches in Cairo.
• 3 days of touring in and around Cairo in a private, air-conditioned van with a licensed, English-speaking guide, as per itinerary.


text:
Prof Alberto Zambon
Current positions: Associate Professor of Medicine, Department of Medicine –
University of Padua School of Medicine – Italy; Affiliate Assistant Professor, of Medicine, Division of Endocrinology, Metabolism and Nutrition, School of Medicine, University of Washington, Seattle, WA, USA
MD degree in 1988, board certified in Endocrinology and Metabolism (1993), and PhD in Gerontology from the University of Padua (1998).
Post-Doctoral Fellow at the Division of Endocrinology, Metabolism and Nutrition, School of Medicine, University of Washington, Seattle, (1991-1993 and 1995-1998), where he was appointed Acting Assistant Professor of Medicine (1999).
American Heart Association (AHA) Fellowship award (1996-97), the 1997 Young Faculty Award of the American Society for Clinical Investigation, the Paul Beeson Physician Faculty Scholarship of American Federation For Aging Research (1998-2001), the Merck Young Investigators on Lipid Research Award for outstanding research contribution (1999) and the Award for Outstanding Scientific Contributions (2000 and 2001) from the University of Padua, Italy.
Research interests concentrate on the pathogenesis of atherosclerosis focusing on the mechanisms of atherosclerotic plaque progression/regression, the genetic background leading to lipoprotein abnormalities and new therapeutic options modulating the atherothrombotic process.
He has authored/co-authored more than 90 peer-reviewed publications, 5 book chapters, and has delivered more than 250 invited lectures.
Professor Zambon is currently: member of the national board of the Italian Atherosclerosis Society (SISA) Foundation; member of the European Atherosclerosis Society (EAS), Gold Heart Member of the AHA and FAHA; member of the International Atherosclerosis Society (IAS). He has been part of the EMA SAG for lipid and lipoproteins related topics.
EAS Executive Committee Members >

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaCommonCrawl


text:
Home World 99.9% of UK Pupils Receive A Grade in A-Levels
99.9% of UK Pupils Receive A Grade in A-Levels
LONDON - England - A-Level grades this year set another record and were up from 2007 where the 'A grades' were 98%. The year 2008, however, smashed all previous records with only 5 pupils getting a B grade in the whole country.
by Mickey Rat
Students celebrate their A grade A-level results
Only five people in the whole of the United Kingdom failed to gain an 'A grade' on the A-Level exam this year. The pupils who got B grades this year were said to be inconsolable.
"This is a sure sign that teenagers in the UK are getting more intelligent," Schools minister, Ed Balls remarked after the A-level results were released today.
"A-Levels Meaningless"
Since Labour has come into power the standard of A-Levels has dropped to such a low level that many private schools are considering dumping the dumbed down 'qualifications' for a rival qualification that will test pupils properly.
The current A-levels were watered down by controversial Labour reforms to A-levels seven years ago which split the exam into six bite-sized units examined in stages throughout the course, with potential for repeated resits. The Labour government has thus created a false grade system where even the thickest students can take the exams and get 'A grades'.
"Creating a dumbed down class"
Not only have the A-Level exams been dumbed down to the level of a low-intelligence test, but the pass marks for 'A grades' in the A-level have also been lowered so more students reach the A threshold.
In the 50's up to the late 80's, A-levels involved students be tested by sitting exams and writing actual essays. A pass mark for an A grade was substantially higher than today's 'mickey mouse' qualification.
The result of the Labour governments spin operation on the A-levels is that there are a large number of people leaving school with 'A grades' who are actually not qualified in their chosen subjects.
Lee from Liverpool is very happy that he got 3 A grades for his
A-levels and has applied to Cambridge University and been accepted
Universities have a very hard time because they are receiving students who are deficient in basic grammatical and mathematical skills, let alone the higher knowledge base that should be attained at A-Level.
The further avalanche effect thus extends to employment where the new 'A student' graduates are illiterate, ineffectual and just plain deluded at their false qualifications.
Despite the majority of graduates all having A grades at A-Level, universities are now having to re-train students in the basics because of the inferior education levels that they have received.
The A-level A grade is now synonymous with stupidity, ignorance, deception, dishonesty, Labour spin and failure.
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text:
Der Brüderhof 6 ist ein unter Denkmalschutz stehendes Gebäude in der oberen Altstadt der ostwestfälischen Stadt Minden in Nordrhein-Westfalen.

Geschichte
Der Brüderhof erinnert in Minden an einen Hof, der den Brüdern der Dominikaner zwischen Videbullenstraße und Brüderstraße um 1236 von der Familie von Beldersen überlassen worden ist. Das zugehörige Kloster der Dominikaner lag um die Ecke in der Alte Kirchstraße. Das Gebäude Brüderhof 6 ist 1983 mit der Nummer 19 in die Denkmalliste der Stadt Minden eingetragen worden.

Bauliche Beschreibung
Das zweigeschossige Fachwerk-Traufhaus ist um 1800 gebaut worden. Es ist ein Doppelhaus mit 5 Achsen pro Haushälfte, die beiden Haustüren sind in der Mitte angeordnet und mit leichten Eingangsstufen versehen. Die Fenster sind in strenger Reihung angeordnet, das Obergeschoss kragt nicht vor. Das Dach ist in Walmdachform ausgeführt.

Weblinks

Einzelnachweise

Bruderhof
Bruderhof
Fachwerkhaus in Nordrhein-Westfalen
Minden

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaWikipedia


business. maybe parcelling some of that out to one institution compared to another. when we offer our responding financial institutions and opportunity to not only discuss how they might be able to discuss all of the various complexity of our banking business, but also talk about how they could handle well and just one piece of it, i think that prevent it opportunity for more diverse types of organizations to come in and say, i may not be able to do all of that concentration account with the sweeping, but i have a great service for credit card processing over here. if we take a flexible approach, we could get even more diversity and more numerous responses. but i think it is to be determined. supervisor avalos: ok.
long term, looking at the idea of the municipal bank. from my conversation with you, it seems there are some constraints to that. in particular, the security of our public dollars. that is something that i would ultimately like to see, tackle in the months to come. just making sure we can have a partnership in that discussion. >> very much looking forward to that conversation. we have all heard that kind of goal for a while. one of the things i am anxious to hear about are some of the outcomes that are being predicted, hoped for out of something like that. if we could get more clarity around that, we might find that there are some ways that that might be a good way to do that. there could be other methods as well. at least in the interim.
supervisor avalos: when we talk about a miscible back, people think about the retail bank with atm's, dennis kearns, but our partnership with other states spreads are risk out, but that is down the line. >> sure. we have programs here in san francisco that we can look at, where the city departments are offering small loan guarantees, different types of assistance to businesses or individuals. that might be something that we can look and learn from as well. supervisor avalos: supervisor mar. supervisor mar: thank you for your work in making banking more grass roots and down to earth for people in our community. i also support a regional-public bank as well.
transactions with. he said all that money is swept every day into a concentration account. where is that concentration account? what institution is that with? >> my guess would be bank of america, our primary bank. i would have to see. but that would be something that we could consider changing as part of the rfp process. that would be reviewed by our portfolio management team, and they look at the funds to decide what length of time they may stay in the fund or get moved into a more profitable and perhaps even safer investment, like u.s. treasurys, or something like that, depending on the cash flow of the city. receiving some sort of an interest-rate versus what we have. supervisor avalos: versus what we have now? >> all interest rates these days are low, i can guarantee that.
hope is it would drive prices lower, which will benefit us. supervisor avalos: that million dollars that they get is offset by -- they receive money from us on a day-to-day basis that goes into their accounts. that is another benefit that they get. i am just thinking about leveraging. his $1 million a lot to leverage a financial institution to break away with their traditional practices that have not been supporting homeowners, have not been aggressive enough in supporting small businesses? what has been good is giving to philanthropy and organizations. however, we have a significant amount of money -- we will hear from the legislative analyst on how much per bank -- but that is our leverage point. it is not how much we pay them, but the amount that goes through the bank. >> i would say it would be both, because of our sweep activity.
of $1.8 billion at present. 431, almost double the number of commercial banks that are credit unions, but they are much smaller in scale. 209 $9 million in assets. community development financial institutions. we could not find a centralized list of all of them. what we did fine from the u.s. office of treasury, 17 were awarded treasury funds since the mid-1990s when the federal act was set up to a provide funding. on publicly-owned banks, there is only one in the country, bank of north dakota, which you mentioned. i will add a footnote in doing this research, we found a number of states that are researching the possibility of creating their own bank and a number of municipalities around the country, and outside the u.s.
balance is about $255 million each month. as the treasurer pointed out, money coming in and out, lots of transactions. by the end of the year, about $12 billion has been dispersed through the citibank account, including not only the city and county of san francisco, but also funds from the community college and school district. the regulatory framework, state law is obviously key in governing how the banking operations function. then there are city investment policies on top of that. also, as has been discussed, the rfp is being prepared to review the current arrangements with banks and to entertain offers from others for banking service. that is scheduled to go out next year.
in terms of regulation of the city possum bank. the acronym at the top is a term that keeps coming back in the review of the laws that govern this. safety liquidity in yields. safeguarding the principle. second, meeting liquidity needs of the jurisdiction. third is achieving a return on the fund. regarding creation -- supervisor avalos: does every county have a treasurer? >> yes, i think that is true. there may be a difference in charter counties. i am pretty sure every county does. certainly most of them.
towards more committed to development efforts. second is expanding existing city programs, serving those functions. third was creating a community investment program that would provide funding towards that end. fourth was supporting efforts to establish a state bank. when we prepared this report, there was some legislation being considered that was working its way through the state legislature. since then, it has been vetoed by the governor. that was simply to set up a commission to study a state bank. that is no longer in effect. five is creating a regional bank, and joining forces with other bay area municipalities, marshalling resources to create a public bank. six is creating a public bank that would be san francisco's own municipal bank.
supervisors. two other programs highlighted, the kindergarten through college program is a public-private partnership were certain children of a certain age receive a $50 check to put into an account so they can be earning interest until the time they're able to go to college. and the bank on sf program. a third option that we presented is city funds for loan programs. this would be not creating a bank but appropriating city money so that loans can be made to small businesses that can obtain credit from larger financial institutions or from homeowners who are attempting to get out of their foreclosures situation or community institutions that cannot receive loans from larger banks as well.
the idea of this is that rather than creating a bank, create a program, appropriate city money that you can run out of an existing city agency -- supervisor avalos: it would be based on a certain amount of money inappropriate for that? >> yes, and on the extent to which loans are repaid, new revenue would be generated. it could be used for other loans as well. but it would still require an appropriation. and that would avoid this city law -- excuse me, state law limitation in our interpretation so that funds could be loaned but it would not be operated as a bank. it would not be all city funds at risk. it would be appropriated in that way. supervisor avalos: and we already have examples of that? >> yes. i am is skipping 2 option 5.
the last one was three. four, we're not including any longer because that was a state bank concept in which the government vetoed the legislation pertaining to that. our recommendation has been to endorse the legislation or put the city efforts behind supporting it. i will move on to the regional public bank option, option 5. this is an idea that has been promoted. there's an advocacy organization typically for public banking called the public banking institute and has initiated contact with other bay area jurisdictions about this idea of creating a network of banks or a regional bank, involving as many jurisdictions as possible. the advantages are that there is an organization already working on it. costs and risks associated with creating a bank would be shared.