THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1996, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Monday, April 22, 1996 TAG: 9604190007
SECTION: FRONT PAGE: A6 EDITION: FINAL
TYPE: Editorial
LENGTH: Medium: 94 lines
The Washington Post reported this week that Mayor Marion Barry - whom Washington residents returned to office despite his cocaine use and sloppy stewardship as municipal leader - acquired a $20,650 electronic-security system at his home at public expense without first inviting bids on the work.
The D.C. police detective who heads the mayor's security detail arranged for a former member of the detail to install the system. Federal investigators are poking into the deal. Meanwhile, it isn't clear that the system is worth the price or that it does what it is supposed to do.
That's Mayor Barry's Washington: a city in which potholes are many, snow clearance spotty and cronyism and corruption abundant. The capital city contains architectural riches and many beautiful neighborhoods; it ought to be a glory.
Alas, it wasn't that even before Congress granted D.C. residents self-rule. But public education, public safety and public works - public services generally - are now a disaster. Mayor Barry, who plays fast and loose with rules written and unwritten, manifestly isn't the man to turn it around. He seems hell-bent on driving it over the cliff. Water appreciation week
Drinking Water Week is fast approaching. It runs May 5-11, and we'll drink to it all week long.
In conjunction with Drinking Water Week, the Norfolk Department of Utilities has published 10 reminders for saving water. The list is included in a city of Norfolk newsletter, called P.S., that was enclosed with recent water bills.
The list is extremely helpful, except for Item 3.
Item 1: ``Check toilets for leaks. You may be wasting 100 gallons a day.''
Item 2: ``Replace your old fixtures with water- saving fixtures. Ultra low-flow toilets and water-saving showerheads are available at hardware stores.
We'll skip Item 3 for now, because we strongly disagree with it, but other items are: take baths or shorter showers; turn off water while brushing your teeth, shaving, washing your face or cleaning vegetables; check pipes and faucets for leaks; use automatic dishwashers and washing machines only for full loads; keep drinking water in refrigerator rather than running water to cool it; and don't leave water running while washing dishes by hand.
Those are terrific suggestions, but Item 3 asks too much of us.
``Use a wastebasket or ashtray instead of the toilet. Every flush uses 3.5 to 7 gallons.'' Please be seated
Five years ago a campaign called ``Please Be Seated'' was launched in Virginia. It's purpose was simple: to encourage drivers to put children under 4 in safety seats.
The campaign distributed postcards at Department of Motor Vehicle locations. If a driver spotted an unbuckled tot they could copy down the license number and mail the postcard. The offending adults received a friendly letter reminding them that child safety seats were the law and telling them how to get a free seat if they could not afford one.
Since Please Be Seated began, 40,000 postcards have been mailed and requests for free safety seats have risen from 4,148 to 15,903 a year.
We urge the campaign to broaden its scope to include reminders about seat belts for children over 4. Last week, a 9-year-old Connecticut boy died in Children's Hospital of The King's Daughters after a car crash.
Tragically, he was not wearing a seat belt at the time of the accident. Hazardous material
For years, veterans of the Persian Gulf war have complained of an odd constellation of symptoms. For years, the syndrome was dismissed by government bureaucrats and many physicians as nothing but the fantasy of complainers.
Now, researchers at the University of Texas and Duke University may have evidence to the contrary. They believe a drug given to guard against chemical-warfare attack and a common pesticide, when used in combination, may cause nerve damage that could account for the symptoms so often reported.
The military acted with the best will in the world in using both substances to try to protect troops. And it has taken years for scientists to arrive at the current hypothesis. War, furthermore, is a hazardous business. But some lessons appear obvious.
Powerful chemicals must be used with extreme caution. Such interactions are hardly unheard of. And when patients voice complaints, they ought to be taken seriously. Too often and for too long, some of those suffering from Gulf War syndrome have been regarded as either hypochondriacs or scroungers seeking undeserved disability. Instead, it may turn out they are victims of friendly fire in an undeclared chemical war. As such, they deserve respect and honor. And maybe an apology. by CNB