Economist.com Cities Guide: Washington, DC Briefing - June 2005

News this month

The battle continues

In June, the US Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit struck down a Virginia ban on a controversial late-term abortion procedure. The 2-1 vote, which upheld a lower-court ruling, throws out the 2003 law, which made it a crime for doctors to perform such procedures (calling it “partial-birth infanticide”). The law had passed against the objections of Virginia's governor, Mark Warner, a Democrat. The court ruled that it is unconstitutional because it lacks an exemption for women whose health is endangered by pregnancy. Virginia's attorney general, Judith Williams Jagdmann, has not said whether she is planning an appeal.

Abortion opponents have learned to concentrate their criticism on late-term procedures, since these incite unease even among abortion-rights supporters. Supporters of the law promised to introduce an amended version when the legislature reconvenes in January. A similar Virginia law was struck down by the same court in 1998.

Cleared for landing

Private airplanes will once again be able to use Ronald Reagan National Airport by summer’s end, provided their owners and passengers submit to a tangle of new regulations. After September 11th 2001, the government mandated that the airport could only be used by commercial airlines. This is because the airport sits directly across from Washington, DC, miles from the White House, Capitol Hill and other sensitive targets. But the security restrictions drew protests from private aviators; roughly 100 private flights had been flying into the airport a day.

The Department of Homeland Security is allowing 48 private flights daily, with heavy restrictions: crew and passengers must undergo background checks; luggage must be screened; armed security guards will fly on the planes at the owner's expense; and a list of everyone expected on board must be submitted to authorities a day in advance. Private flights to Reagan National can originate from only a dozen airports. Local officials welcomed the reopening, but have bristled under the restrictions.

Out from the shadows

Deep Throat, the mysterious whistle-blower who helped reporters uncover the Watergate conspiracy, which lead to Richard Nixon's resignation as president, has revealed himself. Mark Felt, the one-time second-in-command at the FBI, now 91, told a family friend and lawyer writing for Vanity Fair, “I'm the guy they used to call Deep Throat”. The admission was confirmed by Bob Woodward, who along with Carl Bernstein broke the story over 30 years ago for the Washington Post.

Many suspected Mr Felt, but he had long denied the allegations. His family explained that he has always been troubled over his role as informer, as he was ambivalent about being disloyal to the FBI. The Noir-ish tactics Mr Felt used to meet with Post reporters, to avoid using the phone, have earned him lasting glamour: meetings were arranged with a flower pot on the reporter's balcony, with times set by a clock face drawn onto Mr Woodward's daily copy of the New York Times. The “Deep Throat” moniker is a reference to the X-rated film of the same name.

Moving costs

Local officials are asking the federal government to help pay for the Pentagon’s plan to move 18,000 Washington-area defence workers to Fort Belvoir in northern Virginia. This is one of many base closures announced by the Defence Department, aimed at lowering costs and increasing efficiency. In all, some 180 military bases will be shuttered, with savings estimated at nearly $49 billion. The Pentagon is consolidating facilities at Belvoir in Fairfax County, Virginia, outside the beltway.

The Fairfax County Board of Supervisors is seeking federal funds for road improvements and transport upgrades, necessitated by the influx of new workers. There is little mass-transit in the area, and roads are already heavily congested. The Pentagon also plans to close the Walter Reed Army Medical Centre in Washington, and stop leasing 4m square-feet of office space in northern Virginia, according to the Washington Post.

Ending an absurdity

Registered sex offenders in Virginia had been popping Viagra on the commonwealth's dime, according to a recent Medicaid audit. No longer, thanks to an emergency executive order signed by Mark Warner, the state's governor, on May 26th. The audit revealed that 52 such individuals, some violent, had been buying government-subsidised erectile-dysfunction medication. The investigation was prompted by a similar discovery in New York’s Medicaid system. Maryland is now conducting a similar investigation.

Nationally, Medicaid spends roughly on $38m erectile-dysfunction drugs. The Centres for Medicare and Medicaid have ordered state audits to make sure that no violent sex offenders are benefiting. Some in Congress think these drugs should not be covered by Medicaid or Medicare at all.

DC by water?

To ease the city's worsening traffic, the District is considering a commuter ferry along the Potomac and Anacostia rivers, according to the Washington Post. The Department of Transportation is considering a $500,000 contract for an 18-month pilot programme starting next spring. At least four firms, including New York's Circle Line Harbor Cruises, are bidding.

Possible stops would include Bolling Air Force Base, the National Mall, the Georgetown Harbour and Old Town Alexandria. A dock at the Navy Yard could serve the Washington Nationals’ proposed new baseball stadium, on the south-east waterfront. Ideally, the system would move commuters during rush hour and tourists in the meantime, but similar plans have capsized. Some say that commuters will not use the ferry, regardless of traffic.

Catch if you can

June 2005

“Take Me Out”

Until July 10th 2005

Richard Greenberg's “Take Me Out”, which won the 2003 Tony Award for Best Play, offers a unique twist on America's favourite past-time: baseball. At the centre is a star ballplayer, Darren Lemming (M.D. Walton), who calls a press conference to announce that he is gay. The shock unsettles his team-mates, and creates intriguing friction in the locker room. Kippy Sunderstrom (Tug Coker), an insightful intellectual on the team, doubles as our narrator through the season that follows Darren's announcement.

Mr Greenberg's fine writing makes for a dynamic play, full of locker-room frisson and engaging talk about sexuality and the power of baseball. The acting is also strong, particularly Rick Foucheux's turn as Mason Marzac, Darren's nebbishy accountant. The creative, minimalist set is particularly impressive in its recreation of a men's locker-room shower. On that note, expect a fair amount of frontal nudity.

Studio Theatre, the Mead Theatre, 1501 14th St, NW. Tel: +1 (202) 332-3300. Performances: Wed-Sat 8pm, Sun 7pm, matinees: Sat & Sun 2pm. For more information, see the theatre's website.

More from the Washington, DC cultural calendar