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Permalink Reply by Steve on June 5, 2008 at 8:36am

Good Morning Meymo,

Sure. Send me a private message so that we can arrange this.

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Permalink Reply by Meymo Lyons on June 5, 2008 at 11:30am

Great but I don't have your address. Bump me in the newsroom 202 8851233 or meymo@wamu.org. Thanks,Steve.

Best,

Meymo

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Permalink Reply by Meymo Lyons on June 5, 2008 at 2:26pm

Hey John,

Hi John,

Thanks for checking in. Also,did you hear the story you pitched on Arlington's housing code policy ? David Klatt did a nice piece on the issue. Wouldn't have had it without you ! If you missed it ,look online.

You rock.

Best,

Meymo

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Permalink Reply by John Antonelli on June 5, 2008 at 2:37pm

I missed it but I will find it on line, COOL!!

I am two for two

The goats and the Housing units!!!

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Permalink Reply by Meymo Lyons on June 5, 2008 at 4:04pm

Which is why you rock !

Best,

Meymo

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Permalink Reply by Meymo Lyons on June 10, 2008 at 12:23pm

Dear Listeners,

Are you or is someone you know taking part in a clinical study for pay ? Sabri Ben-Achour is working this story to see if during these trying economic times folks are taking desperate measures.

Please let me know !

Best,

Meymo

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Permalink Reply by Tess on June 10, 2008 at 4:26pm

I know you have done some stories recently on the problems food banks are running into - the economy going down and food prices going up have put some of them in crisis mode. I wonder if there are small efforts underway within the communityas a result of your coverage that might be worth discussing? We had a small food/donation drive at our office as a result of a recent story on NPR - maybe others have followed suit (with better results I hope)? Have any restaurants or businesses kicked in to help out, etc.

There are two large plots of land (Federally-owned I think) in my neighborhood where members of the community divide it up into small, individual garden plots - this is done all around the area I'm sure. Perhaps you could tie these two things together (or not!)...

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Permalink Reply by David Pirtle on June 10, 2008 at 9:50pm

The Franklin Shelter issue remains at the forefront of the homeless struggle in Washington DC. Two years ago Mayor Williams had decided, without City Council consent, to lease the Franklin School Building, a historic building at 13th and K St NW to a developer who planned to turn it into a hotel. The hitch was that 240 men were living there in what was called low barrier emergency shelter, but had become de facto long term housing because of the city's unwillingness to address the problem of chronic homelessness in DC. To make a long story short myself along with several other residents of the shelter were able to put a stop to this illegal land grab by the Williams administration and preserve beds for the homeless downtown.

Though I am out of the shelter today and living in my own apartment in SE DC, I have kept in contact with the residents and worked on their behalf to lobby the city to secure real housing for the residents, now 300, because this problem isnt getting smaller, no matter what the Community Partnership will tell you.

So I was dismayed to discover that after over a year of working for renovations of the facility, and being generally victorious (decent bathrooms not dripping sewage and covered in mold, heating and cooling to keep more residents from dying inside the shelter during the extreme months of the year, etc..) the city had decided, once again, to move for the closure of the building. The good news is this time they plan to create supportive housing for downtown's homeless population. The bad news is that this housing only exists on paper, and the shelter is slated to close on October 8th, leaving the men out in the cold a mere week before the start of the Hypothermia alert season, with a newly renovated facility lying empty right beside them.

The residents are fighting back again, and say that they will leave when they have someplace to go, other than the street. The city counters that the men can be moved to Southeast DC's shelter on the grounds of St Elizabeth mental hospital. The problem with that idea is that all of the services for the homeless, from food programs to day labor pools to counseling and everything else needed to help these neglected men back on their feet are located downtown. So the men are going to have to stay downtown. Shelter or no shelter they will be downtown, and the city is in denial if they think they will be shuffled to the outskirts of DC, out of the eyes of the tourists and business community. In fact, if the shelter is removed, rather than converted to a 24 hour full service facility as the city had previously suggested, you will have 300 more men on the streets full time, sleeping on park benches and building steps rather than inside.

How is that for a story idea? It has to be more important than another human interest piece on Ben's Chili Bowl. You (or anyone else interested in this issue) can contact me at anthonydavidpirtle@yahoo.com).

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Permalink Reply by Meymo Lyons on June 11, 2008 at 1:55pm

Hey Tess,

Certainly worth checking up on. Regarding the city gardens we covered that briefly a couple of weeks ago but it will be worthwhile to follow up on how many people are really getting their crops in the ground.
Thanks for being there.

Best,

Meymo

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Permalink Reply by Meymo Lyons on June 11, 2008 at 1:58pm

Dear David,

I just read your story in the newest edition of Street Sense. Nice story. I will relay your information to Jessica Golloher and she will follow with the Mayor.

Congratulations on your success. Everybody gets knocked down but it takes courage to get up and then keep working for the betterment of those left behind !

Best,

Meymo

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Permalink Reply by UJudith Halpern on June 11, 2008 at 4:57pm

I listened to Kojo Nandi's program on factory farming. It was all very interesting but his comment on why the animals are fed sub clinical doses of antibiotics,"Because it has been found to cause increased weight gain." blew me away. If that is true then are the trace amounts of antibiotic that appear in the human food supply accumulating and in anyway implicated in the obesity epidemic that everyone is talking about? Maybe Kojo could do a program on the obesity epidemic and find out if there is any research on this and if not, why not? Judith Halpern

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Permalink Reply by Jack on June 12, 2008 at 10:29am

Begin your story with a beautiful day at the new Nationals ballpark. The crack of the bat, vendors hawking hot dogs and cold drinks...and the sound of a tow truck hooking up one of dozens of cars towed away each inning while unsuspecting fans cheer their team. A fleet of tow trucks scours the streets scooping up cars whose drivers failed to heed or comprehend the thicket of confusing parking signs. I'd love to hear a story explaining the logic (I'm guessing dubious if not greedy) behind posting parking meters on all the side streets surrounding the ballpark with dizzying directions on the meters and sidewalk signs that add up to NO Parking on Game Day! Show a close up of the bizarre instructions posted on the new meters explaining how many hours etc along with a bold red paragraph undermining it all. It appears they want empty streets and everyone packed into their $25/day parking lots. Perhaps a story on this could clarify the pros and cons of this approach and offer fans for whom Metro is not an option a cheaper alternative than their lots. This Dan-Snyder-approach to parking is the very same reason I have not purchased Redskins tix since 2001. Put THAT in your Ben's Chili Bowl and half-smoke it!

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