Sometimes Words Are Not Enough

It was with great sadness that the Growler learned yesterday of the death of Army Captain Shane Mahaffee, son of our West Street neighbors Skip and Hannelore Mahaffee.

Capt. Mahaffee, who grew up in Alexandria, died in Landstuhl Hospital in Germany on Monday from wounds suffered when his convoy was hit by a roadside bomb near Baghdad on May 5. Capt. Mahaffee had been called up for active duty late last year and had only been in Iraq for three weeks before he was injured. Shane Mahaffee leaves a widow, Jennifer, and two young children, Adelia Rose, 5 (shown above saying goodbye to her dad), and Ethan, 2. The family lives in the Chicago suburbs, where Capt. Mahaffee was a well-liked and respected attorney. He was only 36 years old.

Many in the neighborhood will remember that Skip Mahaffee — a retired Fairfax County cop — spent nearly a year in Baghdad training Iraqi policemen, just returning home last November.

Our hearts go out in sorrow to Hannelore and Skip for their loss and we gratefully acknowledge Shane's commitment and sacrifice for his country.

Kids 1, Crackheads 0

There's a happy ending to the picnic table story at Hunter-Miller Park, despite the ICCA leaders' desperate attempt to spin the issue.

The members who turned up for Wednesday’s meeting voted overwhelmingly to keep the picnic tables out of the Queen & N. Fayette Street park for the time being.

Kids 1, crackheads 0. That's the kind of "score" the Growler likes.

It was a common sense issue. If the police say that crack dealers and their customers are using the tables to conduct business, the tables need to stay out. Plus there's agreement that the park has enjoyed a boom in use by children and parents since the tables and bleachers left.

As for the spin, ICCA officers clearly must have worried they were starting to look like crack dealers' best buddies by insisting on a vote. At Wednesday's meeting the new party line was that ICCA was forced by Recreation & Parks to take a vote because the City was fielding complaints from office workers who missed the picnic table at lunch time. Right...

Some skeptical members pointed out that there are few if any office workers who regularly use the park. And when pressed, ICCA leaders couldn't state how many calls the City received or which local businesses these callers represented.

Naturally, the Growler suspects something else is at work here. It's hard to picture the Parks folks hell-bent on returning the old tables and twisting ICCA's arm to hold a vote, since it was the police themselves who requested them to remove the tables some two months ago. And why would Recreation & Parks staff be catering to the whining of office workers, who probably don't live in Alexandria and who use the park only two hours a day, if at all.

You can bet we haven't heard the last of these tables. It's a sure thing that they will be brought up again at ICCA, well before FY 2008 when the park is scheduled for an official redesign.

But for now we can sit back and enjoy the sights and sounds of children laughing and playing joyously in the park.

Picnic Tables

A great big pat on the back for Alexandria cops. About two months ago, police took decisive action that had an immediate and positive effect on the neighborhood: they leaned on Recreation & Parks to remove the picnic tables and bleachers from Hunter-Miller Park at Fayette and Queen Streets.

The result: kids and their parents are turning out in droves to use the playground. The basketball court, too, sees regular use for pickup games.

How could removing the tables and bleachers make the park safer? To quote Alexandria Police Captain William Johnson:

My understanding is that the bleachers and tables were placed there for specific events and then to be removed after the event ended. As I understand it, the concern now is that leaving the bleachers and tables in place invites people to linger there and not use them for legitimate purposes. We have had reports of individuals sitting at the picnic tables to deal drugs. I don't think it will be a problem to return the picnic tables upon request if there is a community function that is planned but then they should be removed when the function is over.

I guess the bottom line is that the park is primarily for children to use the play ground and the two benches that face the playground are sufficient seating for parents who are with their children, or for anyone else who wants to sit and enjoy the park. The basketball court is for pick up games and the bleachers are not really needed.

Captain William P. Johnson
Commander
Patrol Division II
2003 Mill Road
Alexandria, Virginia 22314
(703) 838-4744

Ironically, the Inner City Civic Association was responsible for the problem in the first place. Picnic tables were not an element of the original park design, but were placed there a while back by Recreation & Parks for an ICCA event. Someone apparently forgot to ask the City to pick the tables afterward, and over the course of time the drug dealers discovered them.

But that should now be a thing of the past. Or so the Growler thought ...

It was troubling to read the May ICCA meeting agenda and discover a vote is planned next Wednesday on whether to remove or replace the tables.

If our police have confirmed the tables were used in drug dealing, if they have weighed in that the park is meant for children, and if they have stated that it’s better for the tables to be gone, why must ICCA take a vote? And why hasn't ICCA gotten Captain Johnson's message out to the community?

Don't the kids in this neighborhood come first?

And exactly whose interests would be served by putting tables back in the park?

Reshuffle

Trust the Washington Post to miss the real story behind Alexandria's Mayoral and Council election on May 2.

Yes, the city returned a Democratic slate as usual. But that's as much due to the fact that Alexandria Republicans cannot find, field and support strong candidates or exploit issues like rising property taxes and concerns about the City budget.

The Post devoted the most space to the election of newcomer Tim Lovain, who was quoted at length about his "strong showing," although he was simply stepping into the place vacated by retiring Democratic Council member Joyce Woodson. (Once you have the formidable Susan Kellom and the Democratic machine behind you, it's nearly impossible to lose.)

No, the real scoop is that maverick Councilman Andrew Macdonald, the odd man out on issues like historic preservation, development and the environment, received the highest number of votes and consequently will serve as the new Vice Mayor. Macdonald the gadfly trumped Mayor William D. Euille's right-hand man Rob Krupicka as well as the carefully groomed and anointed Mr. Lovain.

Mayor Euille is probably waking up scowling this morning. Undoubtedly he expected to be seated with St. John and St. Peter at the Last Supper, only to discover that Judas Iscariot has muscled his way in and is preparing to monopolize the after-dinner conversation.

Popular wisdom also had it that Del Pepper was vulnerable, particularly after her poor showing in the primary. Although Ms. Pepper now relinquishes the Vice Mayor post to Mr. Macdonald, she came in a solid second and attracted more votes than the other candidates, including the Mayor's proteges.

So what could have been a ho-hum election ended up with more than a little spice. We should see some fairly interesting dynamics emerging in Council discussions now that Mr. Macdonald has demonstrated he has a power base. We'll see if this is a message that is not lost on the Planning & Zoning Department.

Credits (Tax and Otherwise)

Oops, in writing the previous posting, the ole Growler failed to include former ICCA President Sarah Becker among the kudos. It was Ms. Becker who initially championed the tax credit issue for Parker-Gray.

A columnist with the Crier Media Group, she wrote a heavily-researched article in February's Old Town Crier highlighting the City's 16-year failure to list the Parker-Gray Historic District on either the National Register of Historic Places or Virginia's Landmarks Register. Because of this reluctance to act, eligible residents were denied vital tax credits for rehabilitating and restoring our properties.

Ms. Becker's article was widely read around town and served to finally compel City leaders to do something about this inequitable treatment. Interested Parker-Gray readers gave the story to Andrew Macdonald at the Democratic party's February caucus. The cause took on a political life of it own and — well — the rest is "A Bit of History."

Ms. Becker, a preservation professional, is also responsible for the restoration and financial turnaround at the historic Leadbeater-Stabler Apothecary Museum scheduled to reopen in June. Just as impressively, she persuaded the City last year to acquire the Museum, now endowed and debt-free, when the Museum restoration is finished. It's truly a rare happening in a town rich in museums and historic sites.

So a tip of the old bear paw to one of Parker-Gray's most persuasive residents!