Washington City Paper: Contents for Feb. 23

Baby Is D.C. Sick

Cover Story

Public health is a mess. The water is corrupt.

The cabdrivers harbor TB. HIV is rampant. Restaurants go

uninspected. Every day, just living and

working in the District puts your health at risk.

You awake, still dreamy from the night before. What a surprise your new friend was—gorgeous, mysterious, and self-effacing—a refreshing departure from the typical, C-SPAN-addicted Washingtonian. Condoms would have been a good idea, but you really only regret oversleeping. Running late, you grab a taxi. The driver arduously battles traffic even though he has a hell of a cold; he coughs as if tiny tornadoes were ripping through his chest. Ignoring him and the misty clouds he’s spewing, you stare out the streaked cab window at the gray morning. Finally, the cabby deposits you in front of the gleaming brass doors of your portentous downtown D.C. office, but you skip to the coffee shop across the street so you can bring a latte and a pastry to your desk. A homeless man stirs from a bench, sidetracking you. Even though you’ve lived in the city for years, you press a dollar bill into the man’s curled and rotting fingers.... Continued

Issue of Feb. 23 - 29, 1996

News and Features

Baby Is D.C. Sick
Cover Story By Julie Wakefield
Choice Retreat
Congress Takes a Pass on Real School Reform
Feature By Jonetta Rose Barras with additional reporting by Soumya V. Raman
The African-American Tea Ceremony
What does it mean? It all depends on what you bring to the table.
Feature By Karyn-Siobhan Robinson
The Great Square Dance Conspiracy
Uncovering the Evil Secrets of Operation Do-Si-Do
The City By Eddie Dean
Default Is Not in Our Stars but in Ourselves
The Mail By Michael McGuire
Once Upon a Time When We Weren’t Colored
The Mail By S. Tyrone Barksdale
Nix Quick Fix
The Mail By Susan A. Scaria
Endless Plausibilities
The Mail By Michael E. Lewyn
The Size of It
The Mail By Gene A. Cisewski
The Joke’s on Us
The Mail By Michael Lewis
Hooter Patrol
The Mail By Rachel Jaffe