: News

Filed Under:

D.C. Neighborhood Caught In Middle Of Council Contract Dispute

December 13, 2009
Play associated audio
comments
Rosedale Grassroots Organization president Sondra Gilbert stands in front of the partially-demolished wall of the Rosedale Rec Center -- while holding a photo of its demolition, taken September 30 during the ground breaking of a new rec center. The organization wants the city council to release frozen funds so work can resume on the long-anticipated facility.
Mana Rabiee
Rosedale Grassroots Organization president Sondra Gilbert stands in front of the partially-demolished wall of the Rosedale Rec Center -- while holding a photo of its demolition, taken September 30 during the ground breaking of a new rec center. The organization wants the city council to release frozen funds so work can resume on the long-anticipated facility.

By Mana Rabiee

Some residents in Southeast D.C. are angry that a city council controversy over contracts has put their planned rec center in limbo.

Residents of the Rosedale neighborhood gathered outside the Rosedale Rec Center Saturday morning for a small but vocal protest. They want the city to release the $16 million in frozen funds that had been allocated to rebuild their old rec center.

The facility is one in a bundle of parks and recreation contracts worth $86 million which the city council might void, alleging they were improperly awarded to a single contractor with ties to Mayor Fenty.

"In the middle of this political fight and discussion that's going on is our most vulnerable, our needy, our at-risk citizens: children, senior and families, that are waiting on these projects to be completed," says Sondra Gilbert, president of the Rosedale Grassroots Organization. Gilbert says her group won't stand for a long delay before construction on the rec center resumes.

Arts & Culture

NPR

From Classic Toys To New Twists, Kids Go Back To Blocks

NPR's Neda Ulaby investigates a trend in toys that sounds awfully familiar: Manufacturers are finding new ways to get kids interested in playing with blocks, both real and virtual.

Food

NPR

And The Winner Of The World Food Prize Is ... The Man From Monsanto

The prize is sometimes called the "Nobel Prize for food and agriculture." And this year's winners include Monsanto executive Robert Fraley, a pioneer in genetically engineered crops. If there's a single person who personifies the company's controversial role in American agriculture, it's probably Fraley.

Politics

NPR

The Penultimate Edition Of The Political Junkie

Ken Rudin recaps the week in politics. Boston Globe political reporter Jim O'Sullivan previews the special election between Mass. Senate candidates Edward Markey and Gabriel Gomez on June 25. NPR senior Washington editor Ron Elving looks to the future of Congress.

Technology

NPR

FBI Director Says Agency Is Using Drones Over The U.S.

Robert Mueller told the Senate the FBI used drones rarely and for surveillance proposes. The DEA and the ATF had both revealed they possessed drones.

Leave a Comment

Help keep the conversation civil. Please refer to our Terms of Use and Code of Conduct before posting your comments.