You wake up and realize there’s something special about today, the 14th of February. You know you’re supposed to make something or give that special person a present or note, even if that person is your mom or dad. But you haven’t done anything and you are going to suffer guilt, if not worse.
Because it’s Valentine’s Day! What are you going to do? Read on for a perfect solution — without leaving the sack — but first, a little love for our political class.
If you are a D.C. Council member, Chairman Kwame Brown has planned your day. He chose Valentine’s Day for the legislative body’s “annual retreat.”
I would wager there is less love lost among our 13 — now 12 — council members than there is between Mitch McConnell and Harry Reid, and our folks are from the same political party! These council members flat out do not like one another. Tommy Wells is thought to be too preachy; Michael Brown too sleazy; Jim Graham too weasley; Jack Evans too bossy. Ditto David Catania. I could go on.
In the retreat’s morning session, closed to the press and the public, the members will get some ethics training from General Counsel David Zvenyach. Why not get serious and bring in U.S. Attorney Ronald Machen? Having indicted former Council Member Harry Thomas Jr. for stealing funds, perhaps Machen could advise on how to avoid such unpleasantness.
Here’s a subject ripe for ethical contention: Many members believe Michael Brown hustled the council into passing a law to allow Internet gambling, shortly after he left the employ of a firm that represents gaming interests. But after the council reversed course last week and killed the gaming law, Brown accused them of being bought off by casino companies. Harsh! Who’s more — or less — ethical?
I fear I am straying too far from my original purpose — to help those who have yet to score the proper Valentine’s Day present. The council members will have to wallow in their own loveless retreat.
I recommend you take up the Rock Creek Conservancy on its offer to buy flower bulbs for that special someone. The conservancy, a small environmental group focused on the health and well-being of the national park that runs through us, wants to replenish the daffodil beds along Rock Creek’s embankment as it runs under Pennsylvania Avenue.
Lady Bird Johnson, as part of her many beautification projects, had 200,000 bulbs planted in the park. “There are still some,” says Beth Mullin, the conservancy’s executive director, “but a lot fewer.”
The conservancy is trying to raise $15,000 to plant 4,000 bulbs and native perennials. The conservancy’s website is one click away from making a contribution to buy flowers or plants that will bloom every year. Best part: The conservancy will automatically send an email note to your loved one or buddy on the receiving end of the Valentine’s gift!
It’s a win, win, win. Unless your are a city council member, who gets thrown for a loss all day.
Harry Jaffe’s column appears on Tuesday and Friday. He can be contacted at [email protected].
