I keep hearing again and again "Marion Burry has done more for black-poor-minorities" than anyone else.

Examples? Anyone?

In no way am I Fenty supporter, but let us not forget the years of corruption during Barry days as mayor.

Beyond the federal agents popping up from under the bed at the Mayflower Hotel catching Barry hitting the crack pipe there was and still is A LOT of dirt when it comes to Barry.

Cronyism make me Fenty's crack, but it is a vice for Marion Barry as well.

Downtown Rez, it’s not a popularity contest with us, it’s about taxpayers’ dollars being played with like monopoly money! Do we need a repeat? The District was a BILLION dollars in the hole in 1997 when Congress foreclosed on us.

In 2010, Gandhi is projecting a BILLION dollar deficit and Fenty refuses to limit the number of participants—according to Hizzoner, 24,000 kids have signed up, “the highest level of enrollment in decades.” Where is the rationale in continuing an open-door policy when the same approach in 2008 wasted $30 million taxpayers’ dollars?

I say it is child’s play! Fenty does want to prove an inane point— my program is bigger than Barry’s! Downtown Rez, if you have insight into the madness, please enlighten us.

Thats a pretty round number, and its almost IMPOSSIBLE. I sat outside for 2 days taking applications and gone to almost every rec center, outdoor event, church, and youth summit in DC last year and maybe, just maybe took in about 1000 applications. At the 24 hour event we maybe pulled in 6,000 and that was with news and radio advertising the event.

In the words of Jay Z--"Men lie, Women lie, Numbers dont". I want an audit so that we dont spend millions of dollars on Doritos, pears, and soda again.

I want the competent employees of OYP to be recognized for their hard work and determination. And not be walked out of the office so that a 19 year old with bad manners and no clue on how to use a computer can replace them. That office should not be staffed by friends and neighbors. It was wrong when Yasha Williams did it and its wrong when Jerrianne Anthony does it. The District is losing good workers to "he say she say" and "I dont like you cause you from NE"... Who runs that office? And its not getting better, its getting worse. If you visit 625 H St today, it looks abandoned, moral in the office is low from all of the abuse and the mismanagement. Its not Youth Friendly and thats who the OYP staff are there to service. There was a time when youth were always in that building, now its a distant memory. When will it stop?

Because for me and some of the workers at OYP--it isn't a paycheck, its a passion and its that passion that makes them stand up to the abuse, its the passion that makes them smile and provide excellent customer service, and its the passion that makes them work hard for the youth of DC.

24,000??? Doubt it.

But for the OYP Staff that actually does work hard and are in it for the youth, keep up the good work. And even if nobody appreciates you because the mayor makes the whole office look bad, I do.

In better economies, kids could actually work from late-June to mid-July (similar to the 10 weeks Fenty is trying to do). Not only that but the program was expansive in that high school graduates (up to the age of 21) could qualify. However, the jobs were not a guarantee to DC residents. The jobs were COMPETITIVE, were based on family income (need) and early registration was crucial in getting assigned. With that I agree with Barry that the open registration and promises to all don't really fit.

Many of summers in the '80's (until I got my Work-Study job in the Federal Government) was spent developing job skills that helped me get to where I am today. Kids need that. Some of my collegues in MD were envious of the "Mayor Barry" DC jobs, as they didn't involve working in retail, but true government experience.

Bringing us back to the current era, cutting the time back to 6 weeks is bad (so I agree with Fenty on this one), but if the budget isn't there, hopefully there are ways to make up for it. If things weren't so corrupt and mismanaged, I'm certain DC residents would "donate" above taxes to keep things going. I'd rather pay $5 a month for this than $4 a month for street lights and 5 cents for grocery bags. Our kids need consistency, stability, and the regimen of employment to help build responsibility.

We know the high unemployment rates in DC as well as the nation. We often complain about the kids just "hanging around" or committing crimes without nothing viable to do. The Summer Employment program DOES have a legacy in that at least two generations of DC kids have benefited from it. However, it needs to be viable, run responsibly, and not some crusade to get someone (re)elected. It is actually an example of something in DC that used to work for the kids and building future generations.

Cut Barry and Fenty some slack this time and let them work to a REAL solution instead of political jockeying. Hopefully they will roll up their sleeves and not have a p*ssing contest about this either...school will be out in a little over a month.

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