Economist.com Cities Guide: Washington, DC Briefing - January 2006

News this month

Off the air

Independence Air, the Dulles Airport-based low-fare airline, closed down on January 5th. The airline’s demise will result in the loss of 2,300 jobs in the DC area, according to the Washington Post. The weakened competition is expected to lead to an increase in fares for flights from Dulles.

FLYi Inc, the airline’s parent company, had filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection two months earlier, but Independence Air could not pull out of its financial tailspin. A number of factors contributed to its plight, including high oil prices. The airline’s business plan had budgeted for oil at $30 per barrel, not anticipating barrel prices that have reached more than twice that. Seven other American carriers have filed for bankruptcy protection in recent months. Under federal law, other airlines are required to honour the tickets of a defunct airline, though passengers must fly stand-by and pay a $50 surcharge.

Death on the rise

First, the bad news: the number of murders in the DC area rose in 2005. But for residents of the District itself, there is a silver lining: the increase can be traced to the surrounding suburbs. There were 466 homicides in the area, according to the Washington Post, up from 420 in 2004; however, the number of murders in the city fell from 198 to 194, marking the first time since the mid-1980s that the city has seen fewer than 200 killings for two consecutive years.

Washington, DC, was known as the “murder capital” of America in the late 1980s and 1990s, because of rates that sometimes topped 400, peaking at 482 in 1991. This sparked an exodus from the city to the suburbs, as residents tried to escape the crime. But now crime is rising in these peripheral districts, most notably in Prince George’s County, Maryland, where murders rose from 148 in 2004 to 173. The city itself still has a relatively high murder rate—35 per 100,000 residents. Most American cities of a similar size have much lower rates: in 2002 Seattle's was 4.5 per 100,000 residents and Denver's was 8.8 (DC's was 45.9).

No smoking

Washington, DC, will join the ranks of cities that have banned smoking in public places, after the city council voted 11-1 in favour of the proposal on January 4th. This will ban smoking in the dining areas of restaurants as of this spring. But bars, nightclubs, taverns and the bar areas of restaurants will not become smoke-free until January 2007, allowing businesses time to make the transition. The legislation will include exemptions for places like cigar bars, outdoor areas, hotel rooms and stores that sell tobacco products. Anthony Williams, the mayor, is considering trying to use his power of veto to overturn the council's decision, but this would be a token gesture, as the vote's large margin would negate his veto. Opponents of the ban argue that it could be economically devastating for the city’s hospitality industry. However in New York, where a smoking ban took effect in 2003, restaurants and bars have not noticed a related loss in business.

A stall-game

Major League Baseball will take the city of Washington to arbitration after DC missed key deadlines in the year-old agreement that brought the Washington Nationals to the city. The two sides will take part in a 15-day mediation to try to reach a final agreement. If that process fails, binding arbitration follows, which can last up to six months. This follows the council's failure to vote on a new stadium deal. Under the deal struck between the city and Major League Baseball (MLB) at the end of 2004, the city was due to enact legislation by the end of 2005 to construct a new stadium on the Anacostia Riverfront. The city was also committed to paying for the $535m stadium, including cost over-runs.

But in the intervening year, which brought the Nationals some unexpected success, the estimated cost of the stadium rose to $667m. Opponents of the deal claimed the city should not have to pay for over-runs, especially since the team’s success has strengthened DC’s bargaining position. But MLB officials said the city should abide by its agreement. A final council vote on the stadium is not expected until mid-January, at the earliest. Five members of the 13-member council have vowed to vote in favour of funding the stadium, but it is unclear where supporters can find two more votes.

Autopsy backlog

The Washington, DC, medical examiner’s office has a backlog of over 1,000 cases, including some that are more than a decade old, according to the Washington Post. The effect has been to delay police work and criminal prosecutions. The backlog included 765 cases that were at least one year old, according to the Post, as compared to none in either Virginia or Maryland.
The office investigates violent deaths, suspicious deaths that threaten public health, deaths that occur in custody and deaths that occur without medical attention. The autopsy records are necessary for criminal investigations and in many cases to settle estates for insurance claims.

The District managed to complete just 47% of homicide cases and 34% of other cases within the time frames recommended by the National Association of Medical Examiners. It is unclear why the office is having difficulties, but some speculate that it is the result of a high staff turnover rate and the fact that the chief medical examiner, Marie-Lydie Y. Pierre-Louis, does not have certification as a forensic pathologist. Adrian Fenty, a DC council member, has argued that she is not qualified for the job.

Catch if you can

January 2006

George Catlin’s Indian Gallery

Continuing

George Catlin, a former lawyer who turned to painting, visited over 50 American Indian tribes over a half-dozen years in the 1830s to record their “manners and customs.” This exhibition, which opened on November 24th, includes hundreds of paintings of Indian life, with ceremonies, dancing, hunting, encounters with westerners, portraits and landscapes. It is dominated by three majestic landscapes on enormous canvasses, which dwarf the other works.

Catlin took his paintings on several tours around Europe; this show, in the Grand Salon at the Renwick, is arranged in one room to mimic those exhibits. Unfortunately this cluttered choice detracts from the work: pictures run all the way up the walls, and seeing them requires craning necks and squinting eyes. While the paintings, which are interesting and well executed, don’t have captions next to them, catalogues can be found at the room’s entrance with titles and descriptions.

The Renwick Gallery, 1661 Pennsylvania Ave, NW. Tel: +1 (202) 633-2850. Open: daily, 10am-5.30pm. Entry: free. For more information, visit the museum’s website.

More from the Washington, DC cultural calendar