Hey! It's Thursday! Pick up our paper. It has another typo on the cover. Erika, please come back here soon! Otherwise this is an excellent issue, with a great story by Jeffrey Anderson about Peaceoholics' Ronald Moten, as well as all the usual bozos. Please don't forget to patronize our advertisers, especially anyone who can drop a giant cube on your enemies.

ITEMS:
• Hippies and punks---IN ONE PLACE! Wait, there's still hippies and punks?
• Riggo, the world's greatest man.
• Cheap parking spurned. Who pays? [sadtrombone.wav]
• Jawbox to reunite, on Fallon! "I think we’re all a bit taken aback that anyone is paying attention," Jawbox's J. Robbins told us yesterday.
• I will adhere to these new Michael Pollan rules and talk loudly about them, because it makes Riggs go coconuts.
• A friend IM'd me about the Chuck Brown feature Godfrey and I wrote for this week's paper; it bounces off the terrible Chuck Brown feature in last Sunday's Washington Post Magazine. In the intro, I mentioned that twice, author Robin Rose Parker mentioned that Brown's audience was "30- and 40-something African Americans" and took her to task for some sloppy math (Brown is speaking at a high school when her piece opens she says his 1979 hit “Bustin’ Loose” was released “decades before his high school audience was born.") Short decades, right? Says my pal: What about the 30- and 40-something African Americans? How old were they in 1979? Boom!

BIKE COMMUTING CORNER: If your ride is longer than a mile, you might want to have different clothes for biking and working. However! Now you have to get your nice clothes to work and keep them dry. Solution: a bag! However! What bag? Backpacks are great for short rides but get kinda hot on your back, especially in the summer. Messenger bags, sure why not? On my usual bike, I have a set of Ortlieb panniers. They have a nice Tron-ish look to them and are superwatertight. They cost a lot. That part I can't endorse. Many companies make panniers, but some of them require you to put covers on them when it rains, which seems like way too much trouble to me. Also, make sure you don't pronounce it "pann-i-AY." Pronounce the "r" or people in bike shops will laugh at you. I learned this firsthand!

I gotta bounce! Obey the Cube! Follow me on Twitter!

The D.C. Council saw one of the livelier proceedings in recent memory this morning, when Peaceoholics co-founder Ronald Moten appeared before councilmembers Mary Cheh and Phil Mendelson in connection with their investigation into the donation of used city emergency equipment to the Dominican Republic.

The proceeding wasn't hearing, exactly, but an open deposition. Moten had originally been scheduled to give his deposition behind closed doors on Friday, but he declined to testify, citing the council's political motivations. Council staff agreed to let him say his piece in public today, in what Mendelson called a "very unusual" proceeding.

Moten set the tone early, with a combative opening statement decrying a "political smear campaign" targeting his organization. He accused councilmembers and media of "attacking the mayor at my organization's expense" and engaging in a "political charade" that has affected his business and his family. "We hold the council directly responsible for creating an atmosphere where such stories could flourish," he said of media accounts questioning his organization's role in the shadowy transfer. The questions will remain, he says, until the "thirst for political blood is quenched."

Cheh and Mendelson reacted not at all to Moten's grandstanding. Once their questioning began, some vital facts quickly emerged: It became clear that Peaceoholics, far from being at the center of the giveaway, was something of a bit player. Moten, in his testimony, made it clear that this was a production of David Jannarone, the mayoral director of development, and Sinclair Skinner, an longtime Fenty crony now a businessman and consultant.

It was they, Skinner in particular, who first approached Moten about the donating the fire truck, earlier this year. And it was a company associated with Skinner---Liberty Industries LLC---who provided the funds to transport the fire truck and ambulance down to the Caribbean. Moten described Jannarone an acquaintance, while he said he'd known Skinner "for years" through their activist work.

"We agreed that I would join them on a good deed," he said.

Moten said he'd never been to Sosua, the town that was to get the equipment. He'd only been to the Dominican Republic in 1989, as a teenager, and he confirmed that he doesn't currently hold a passport.

Then Cheh tried to get Moten to describe his relationship with the District government, in particular the nature of his contracts. That set Moten off again: 'Cheh...what you're trying to do is tear down my organization," he cried. "What I think you're doing is criminal."

Moten went on to describe brief contacts regarding procedural matters with Robin Booth, an official in the Office of Contracting and Procurement, and Ronald Gill, a deputy fire chief. (Both were deposed Friday.) Moten went on to describe how the shipping on the ambulance and fire truck---an $11,000 proposition---was paid for. He received a check, drawn on Liberty Industries, from Skinner; Peaceoholics turned around and used those funds to pay a shipping company.

Then Cheh turned to the aftermath, in particular Attorney General Peter Nickles' (non-)investigation which declared the whole enterprise legal and proper without mentioning the involvement of prime movers Jannarone and Skinner. When Cheh started asking Moten about that investigation, he took the opportunity to embark on more speechifying: 'The whole thing was to make the mayor look bad; that's how the whole thing was set up," he said. "You were on TV 20 times talking about the situation, making it bigger than it is....I know everybody's running [for office] and they have to do what they have to do."

That speech won him cheers from about 40 allies in the audience, before Cheh admonished them to be quiet.

Moten continued protesting his alleged victimization: "You all let that happen!" he told Cheh. "You and Phil let that happen!" (As an aside, he referred to Cheh as "Cheh" for most of the hearing.)

Then Cheh turned to the subject of William Walker III, the man who birthed the idea of donating a fire truck to Sosua. Moten gave an account of his involvement that matches the account given by Walker himself, as printed in LL's column this week---that he randomly encountered Walker outside an Anacostia restaurant in March, and let slip that he was donating equipment to the DR. That flabbergasted Walker, who had earlier tried to consummate such a deal.

Moten said that he and Walker talked after that about getting Walker's organization, and kids he mentored, into the deal---in what would culminate in a big trip down to Sosua with all the interested parties. (Walker was scheduled to testify on the matter in a hearing today, but begged off due to sickness.)

Then the shit hit the fan. The story turned up in the paper, Nickles ordered the firetrucks turned around, and the whole thing has turned into a mess.

Then, an hour into the deposition, Mendelson started his questioning, and that's when things got especially combative. Moten, under the advice of his attorney, Rodney Mitchell, refused to answer questions that had been previously been asked. "You're acting like you're a prosecutor, I'm a criminal," he said at one point. "We're not gonna answer the same questions over and over again." He used that excuse repeatedly over the course of the next 45 minutes, under questioning from Mendelson and Cheh's chief of staff. Repeatedly Moten tried to invoke his constitutional right against criminal self-incrimination: "Fifth! Fifth!" he'd shout, despite his protestations about not being involved in criminal activity. (At one point, Cheh said after the hearing, she heard Mitchell instructing Moten to say he "didn't recall" answers to certain questions.)

At another point, Moten referred to a "political assassination at my expense" and told Mendelson, as he tried to confirm a timeline, "Right now my mind is not listening to you...because you're asking the same question....I think I deserve more respect than that, Phil."

But for the most part, the questions got answered.

And the picture those answers paint looks a lot like the one painted by Walker: That this production was hijacked from Walker by Skinner and Jannarone, and that those two used Moten and Peaceoholics simply as a nonprofit pass-through to comply with city surplussing regulations. If Moten was indeed a "pawn," as Walker describes him, nothing in Moten's testimony today disputes that characterization.

As to why Skinner and Jannarone would pursue such a giveaway, answers will have to come from them. After the hearing, Cheh says she expects to issue subpoenas for their testimony shortly.

Like Walker, Moten says he still wants to donate that equipment: "In hindsight, if we would have had to do it all over again, we would have slowed it down and had a press conference."

Today, three players in the fishy fire truck scandal---Deputy Fire Chief Ronald Gill, Robin Booth of the Office of Property Management Contracting and Procurement, and Peaceoholics chief Ronald Moten---are scheduled to give private testimony in a D.C. Council probe being jointly led by Councilmembers Mary Cheh and Phil Mendelson. Leading up to today's depositions, there had been much posturing in both side over whether the city would allow the witnesses to testify; pro bono counsel from top law firm was found to represent Booth and Gill.

This morning, other lawyers showed up, too---two from the Office of the Attorney General. Cheh and Mendelson were not happy to see them, and an hour-and-a-half long standoff ensued. At one point, the councilmembers threatened to call security to have the city lawyers removed.

This account comes from D.C. Watch doyenne Dorothy Brizill, who has been standing outside the first-floor meeting room since the drama began this morning.

The lawyers eventually left, says Attorney General Peter Nickles, in order to avoid "some unnecessary conflagration." That was for Gill's interview; now, with Booth's turn coming, the lawyers are back.

Cheh and Mendelson's position is that the District government was not subpoenaed and is not involved in the deposition, and thus has no reason to attend. Cheh also tells LL that OAG participation could have a "chilling effect" on the answers.

Says Nickles of Gill, "This is a government employee, not a private employee," and thus the District has an interest in being present for questioning.

"If we can't get it straightened up, then we will go to court," he says.

UPDATE, 5:25 P.M.: The plot thickens. Moten showed up for his deposition shortly after 4 p.m., as scheduled. Apparently under the impression that it was an open hearing, he brought with him an entourage of dozens and dozens---at leats 75, he estimates.

Told that he'd have to wait because things were running overtime due to the legal wrangling detailed above, Moten refused to be deposed and left the building.

LL reached Moten this evening: "First of all, I'm offended that I was called down there on Friday on a 4, and then you tell me its 4:30 then it's 5...and then 5:30. Who does that?"

Secondly: "Why is it closed to the public?...When you take me into a closed hearing, the public thinks that I did something wrong. We've done nothing wrong. I want everything I say out there for the public to hear."

Thirdly, Moten points out that both the inspector general and the council are engaged in separate investigations. "Where do they do that at? Show me where that's been done in D.C.!...To me, it's turned into a political circus."

Still, Moten says, "I have a lot of respect for Councilmember Rhee [sic]. We'll reschedule."

The speeches may constitute wishful thinking considering that these agencies are under the microscope either by Colbert King or the courts. The court monitor's report issued last week on CFSA was not pretty. Judging from the breakout sessions, social workers and advocates have a lot to learn from the children they are paid to protect and nurture.

The breakout session on getting parents involved promised testimony from a young girl in the system. She took a seat in the front of the room and smiled awkwardly as the two panelists talked about her. The two panelists---Gail Avent, the executive director of the Total Family Care Coalition, and Laurie Ellington, a DMH manager---could not have been more enthusiastic or engaging on the topic of this girl's story and the importance of pulling parents into I.E.P. meetings, etc.

Certainly, parent involvement is a good thing. Inevitably, a school worker lamented that some parents didn't show up for stuff---that they could be difficult. I could not help but raise the point that often a parent's first involvement with the system was either through the police or the infamous CFSA hotline. Last year, roughly 30 percent of juveniles with pending criminal cases had been the subject of a neglect/abuse case. The hotline has long been a problem--those calls have rarely resulted in immediate action. Even before the Banita Jacks case, the agency had more than 300 cases in its backlog.

A CFSA worker in the audience jumped in and said my comments were out of bounds. He was upset that his agency had been "singled out." In other words, the man's feelings were hurt. He refused to address the points I raised.

Instead, the young girl attempted to do so. Towards the end of the session, it came time to hear from her about her own first-hand experiences in the system.

The girl opened with two complaints: After a month in the system, she stated she had not heard from her lawyer-guardian or CFSA social worker. She also had been given no money for clothes.

The girl got two-three sentences into her story. Then bam. A DCPS worker in the audience interrupted her and started to challenge the girl's experience.

The girl fled the room. She looked like she was on the verge of tears.

Adults followed her outside and into the nearby ladies room. But it was too late. The girl did not finish her testimony.

It was an enlightening moment but for all the wrong reasons. You'd think DCPS and CFSA employees would be open to criticism without freaking out---without driving a girl to tears.

In the afternoon, child advocates and city employees were much more open at the youth panel expertly moderated by Jose DeArteaga, a DYRS progam manager. Six kids took turns relating their experiences. They talked about the need for more gay-lesbian-transgendered programs, credited the Peaceoholics with its outreach efforts (the group had a lot of street cred among the panelists), and praised individual mentors with getting them through tense periods in their lives. The audience responded with applause and empathetic questions.

The social workers and advocates looked at the panel for answers on how they could reach kids, how they could improve upon the work that they do. The exchanges were genuine. The kids said they just wanted respect without judgment from their social workers. They wanted them to be there, to show up in their communities if necessary.

The kids seemed particularly drawn to non-governmental groups for support. Positive Nature was praised as being like a big family. Peaceoholics saved another former criminal: "Without them I don't know where I'd be at right now."

When the kids were done, the audience gave them a standing ovation.