Washington City Paper: Contents for Jan. 24

Is Barry Down for the Count?
Bushwhacked by the control board, ridiculed by the media, and hated on the Hill, the Mayor-for-Life may have run out of lives.

Cover Story

The ground-floor auditorium at 1 Judiciary Square is awash with students, faculty, and supporters of the University of the District of Columbia (UDC), all waiting for Mayor Marion Barry to show. The forum on Jan. 9 is slated to start at 12:30, but at 12:50 the crowd is told the mayor will be down from his 11th-floor office by 1 p.m. The excuse is that Barry wants to allow students more time to make their way through the snowy weather. (He is actually finishing an interview with CNN, which is preparing a special segment on the District of Columbia.)

A few minutes after 1 p.m. Barry strolls into the room accompanied by his wife, Cora Masters Barry. He stops to shake a few hands but then heads for a table on the stage draped in red cloth and backed by a red and white banner that says, "Save UDC"—the mayor's name runs across the bottom. Barry basks in a generous ovation as he takes his place in the front of the room. There will be no hecklers today, as there have been at recent town-hall meetings. No one will chastise him because he's late. This is Barry's crowd.

The fight at UDC emanates from race, class, and entitlement, a neat trifecta of Barry's pet issues. As he did last spring, when he joined civilly disobedient students in blocking Connecticut Avenue, he has arrived not as decision-maker but as victim.

"This is not just my struggle," he tells the upturned faces. "This is not just the cause of the day."

What he doesn't mention is that he can do nothing more than commiserate about the control board and the chief financial officer's plan for a $16.2-million spending reduction for the university during fiscal 1997. Except make speeches.... Continued

Issue of Jan. 24 - 30, 1997

News and Features

Is Barry Down for the Count?
Bushwhacked by the control board, ridiculed by the media, and hated on the Hill, the Mayor-for-Life may have run out of lives.
Cover Story By Jonetta Rose Barras
A Vote for Conflict
Race Overtakes Neighborhood Election
The City By Kathy Jones
Witness to the Inauguration
The Washington Post sent 80—yes, 80—reporters to cover the inaugural events last weekend. We sent one.
The City By John Cloud
The Library of Sexual Congress
The City By Eddie Dean
Rites Wrongs
The Mail By Bob Homan
Untrue Blues
The Mail By Steve Levine
Who Will Chavous?
The Mail By Robert Handloff
Man of Letters
The Mail By PM
Personal Best
The Mail By Lady in Love
Circle Jerked
The Mail By Leslie Miles
Ars Gratia Contempt
The Mail By Craig Kittner
Beneath Contempt Beneath Contempt
The Mail By Gail F. Enns
Vaca Vaca
The Mail By Patricio Viteri

Columns

The All-Maddening Team
Cheap Seats By Dave McKenna
I Want My VH-1
City Desk
Watchdog in the Doghouse
Loose Lips By Ken Cummins

Eats

Wrappin' Forte
Young & Hungry By Brett Anderson

Movies

That's the Piquancy, Kenneth
Film Review By Arion Berger
The Runner Stumbles
Film Review By Mark Jenkins
Don't Walk Away, Renee
Film Review By Joel E. Siegel

Music

After That It's All Gravy
Music Review By Jeff Bagato
"Helen Butte" vs. Masonna Pussy Badsmell
Music Review By Jeff Bagato
Plastique Valentine
Music Review By Chris Nelson
One Fierce Beer Coaster
Music Review By Rickey Wright
I'll Take Staten
Music Review By Ta-Nehisi Coates

Theater

Sex, Lies, and Audiotape
Theater Review By Trey Graham
Silence Kid
Theater Review By Bob Mondello

Arts and Events

Sounds of a Different Sort
Artifacts By Amy Domingues
Puppy Love
Artifacts By Ginger Eckert
Trust No One Except the Wise Man
Artifacts By Christopher Porter
The House That Clutch Built
In the Wilds of West Virginia, the Maryland Noisemakers Record an Album, Dish Some Dirt, and Sit on the Porch a Spell
Arts By Elisa Nader
Hannah From Heaven
Books By Scott Morris