Storms, earthquakes and all sorts of political grief occurred in 2011; can 2012 even compete?
We’re confident it can, but maybe not with another earthquake, please.
The new year is looking to feature some interesting events of a positive nature.
The spring will bring the 100th anniversary of Japan’s gift of flowering cherry trees to the city. There will be more than a month of celebrations, fireworks and exhibits. But the little ol’ cherry blossoms that bring so much pleasure as usual will be in bloom for only about a week, so plan accordingly.
It’s also the 100th anniversary year of the sinking of the Titanic.
At midnight on April 14, you should get yourself down to the Southwest waterfront for a small, unique and moving ceremony at the base of the little-known Titanic Memorial. And yes, we said midnight. That’s when the Titanic sank.
The modest memorial honors the male passengers and crew members who gave up their lives to get women and children into the too few lifeboats available. The yearly ceremony features a group of men who ring a ship’s bell and offer a series of stirring toasts “to those brave men.” It lasts only a few minutes, so don’t be late.
We did a quick check. Other institutions celebrating centennials in 2012 include Boston’s Fenway Park, the Better Business Bureau and the Girl Scouts of America.
There will be many Girl Scout celebrations around the country. But the organization is planning a huge June 8 celebration on the National Mall. It expects a crowd of 250,000 people.
• Politics, Continued
The hangover of 2011 is continuing into 2012.
Mayor Vincent Gray did the traditional round of year-end interviews, and he knew what to expect. Every reporter was asking what he thought about the year that was marred by hiring embarrassments and the ongoing federal probe into his 2010 campaign spending.
Gray dutifully answered that he called for the investigation and yes, he is cooperating in any way he is asked. He again denied wrongdoing and said he hopes U.S. Attorney Ronald Machen does a thorough job but gets it done soon so Gray can move on.
Gray has several administrative achievements he can point to -- budget reform, a good youth summer jobs program, and the permanent appointment of Kaya Henderson as chancellor after the turbulent Michelle Rhee years.
But the investigation lies like a wet blanket over his future and the city’s.
And if one federal investigation weren’t enough, we have two others, involving D.C. Council Chairman Kwame Brown and Ward 5 Council member Harry Thomas Jr.
All three probes hold the possibility of blowing up our election calendar in 2012 if they end as badly as some expect.
• Politics and Polling
As the week was ending, there was more bad news for the mayor and council chairman. The respected Claris poll showed that city voters aren’t happy with either city leader.
Gray’s approval rating in the poll was only 34 percent positive, while 53 percent disapproved of him. The finding was actually a slight improvement for the mayor, who had fallen to 31 percent approval in March when the hiring scandal was still fresh.
But as bad as the numbers are for Gray, they’re worse for Chairman Brown.
Only 23 percent of the voters polled said they approve of the chairman, who has been mired in his federal probe and public embarrassment over ordering not one but two “fully loaded” SUVs when he first took office (the Washington City Paper has dubbed him Kwame “Fully Loaded” Brown). And that 23 percent may be one of the lowest approval ratings in city history. Another 57 percent of the respondents disapproved of Brown.
Some political observers believe Brown, as chairman, may be in an irreversible slide, but Brown told NBC4 he would redouble his efforts to communicate better with citizens and focus on his job as chairman. Brown did help lead a rewriting of the city’s ethics code and helped get the budget through the council, but it’s not clear those achievements dull the bad stuff.
The Claris polling showed that only 30 percent of the citizens approve of the 13-member council itself. Last spring, before the scandals and public spats too numerous to name, the council enjoyed a healthy 54 percent approval rate.
A drop of 24 percent is extraordinary and ought to be some type of -- to use a cliché -- wakeup call.
• A Final Word
We will modestly point out that Washingtonian Magazine named us one of its eight “Washingtonian of the Year” honorees in its January issue that came out late last week. The brief article in the magazine noted our longtime affection for local Washington.
And the article rightly points out our work with the Kojo Nnamdi Show on WAMU 88.5 and this weekly column. Our thanks go to everyone who works with us in all the media formats of TV, radio, newspapers and the Web. As we say in the article and elsewhere every chance we get, our local city is only as good as the people active in it.
Happy new year.
