Kitty Felde
The inside story on California's congressional delegation.
April 2009 Archives
Environment and Public Works
We’ve all had the office from hell: an air conditioner that cooks you during winter and freezes you all summer. Or vice versa. But wouldn’t you think that the Senator who heads the powerful committee in charge of tackling climate change and overseeing public works projects would have an energy efficient office herself?
Two years ago, an interview with Barbara Boxer in her office included an unusual sound effect: an air conditioner in the background so loud it sounded like the Trevi Fountain. Last week, a visit to the Senator’s office revealed that the air conditioner from hell was still hissing and spitting like crazy.
In fairness, it may not be energy inefficient. Perhaps the office was even designed with an annoying air conditioner. And the Senator has pushed hard to replace incandescent bulbs in Capitol office buildings with fluorescents. But if Senator Boxer can’t get her own air conditioner fixed, how successful will Congress be at passing legislation that can reduce greenhouse gasses?
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- April 28, 2009 2:37 PM by Kitty Felde
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Washington's Dirty Little Secret
There’s a dry cleaning establishment in the Longworth House Office Building. There’s also a Post Office, a credit union, a cafeteria, etc. But that dry cleaners surprised one observer.
“Who would walk around Capitol Hill, waving around plastic covered shirts?”
The truth is that at about 6:30 every weeknight, as most staffers start walking across the street to the Metro, dozens of them carry their Longworth House dry cleaning, those plastic covered shirts waving like kites in the wind.
The skeptic scoffed.
But then he spotted the fifth most powerful member of Congress picking up his own dry cleaning: LA Democrat Xavier Bacerra.
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- April 23, 2009 2:35 PM by Kitty Felde
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Just Stand There and Wait
House Speaker Nancy Pelosi gathered up all the Chairmen of the various Committees that are dealing with global warming legislation today. They all stood in a line, before a blue screen announcing they’d be cleaning up the air and adding jobs, etc. Everyone got the chance to say about one minute of content.
And then what?
You’re supposed to just stand there for the picture.
California Democrat Henry Waxman, who heads the House Energy and Commerce Committee, gave his short speech. And then did what every reporter in the Rayburn Room was doing. He checked his Blackberry. While one of his fellow Chairmen was speaking.
There are rules of etiquette about checking email during dinner parties. I wonder if there’s one about doing it during press conferences?
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- April 21, 2009 4:16 PM by Kitty Felde
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Fire Drill
Maybe it’s a spring ritual here in Washington - an excuse to get outside when the weather is warming up. Or maybe they just have more fires here.
On Capitol Hill today, there were THOUSANDS of people out on the streets. Now, Congress is not in session and it’s been pretty quiet. Not today. At first, it looked like several busloads of tourists had just arrived, all patiently waiting in line for a peek at the halls of power.
But no, these were staffers, standing a line two blocks long, waiting to get through security to get back into their House office building.
Turns out, it was a fire drill…for ALL of Capitol Hill. Everyone was in a jolly mood…mostly because it was a nice day outside for a change. Sunshine instead of two days of rain and temps that keep dipping back into the lower 40’s.
One woman brought her laptop, Blackberry, personal cell phone, and three other electronic devices I couldn’t identify. But most people stood empty-handed, squinting up at the sunshine.
It was also a bit of a runway show for the type of fashions staffers wear when the boss is back in the district. Very California: flip flops, sundresses, and a lot of denim.
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- April 16, 2009 2:08 PM by Kitty Felde
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Opening Day
It’s opening day for the Dodgers in Los Angeles…and for the Nationals here in Washington DC.
You think traffic on the Pasadena Freeway is bad? You should see the DC Metro this afternoon! Every rail car was PACKED with Nats fans wearing bright red team gear. And every subway station in the vicinity was jammed with THOUSANDS of people packed shoulder to shoulder along the edge of the subway track. It looked like Tokyo at rush hour. And more than a bit scary as folks pushed further and further toward the edge of the platform. Folks were not happy when the train arrived and was too full to take on another customer. It was also clear that more than a few of those Nationals fans had started drinking long before the game was scheduled to begin.
In Los Angeles, Vin Scully threw out the first pitch. Here in Washington, President Obama was supposed to throw out the first pitch, but he begged off. Apparently, he had 30,000 children and their parents wandering all over the White House lawn, rolling eggs and looking for the new First Puppy.
Wonder what it will look like later today with those tired and chocolate-stuffed children running into beer soaked baseball fans…
The Nats game started on a sad note. The longtime Phillies announcer Harry Kalas collapsed in the broadcast booth before the game. He was 73.
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- April 13, 2009 2:09 PM by Kitty Felde
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Where Have All the Politicos Gone?
It’s very, very quiet here.
The halls of Congress are usually busy with young staffers walking briskly beside a House member, briefing them on this or that on the way to a meeting. (You can tell the Congressional member…at least most of the time: they’re the ones wearing the lapel pin. Of course, Barney Frank didn’t wear his and doesn’t look like his pictures and was only identifiable after he’d opened his mouth…but that’s another story..)
Usually, there are LOTS of Capitol Police in the hallways. And folks from various interest groups - everyone from Maryland farmers in checked shirts to Alzheimers research advocates wearing purple sashes - calling on members, asking for support. The sound of elevators dinging is constantly in the air. And this sense of business and busyness goes on till quite late in the evening.
Not this week.
This is the “spring district work period,” Congressional members are home in their districts and staffers are taking vacation days. One Senate employee is taking advantage of the lull to get married this weekend. Boxes are stacking up outside House office doors.
The few staffers you see in the tunnels between the House office buildings and the Capitol building after five are all wearing jogging suits and sneakers rather than business suits and pumps. They listen to Ipods rather than their boss.
It’s like a movie set after the actors have all gone home.
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- April 9, 2009 11:14 AM by Kitty Felde
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Comparing Cuba to Compton
Last night, the Congressional Black Caucus returned from Cuba. One of those in the delegation was Long Beach Democrat Laura Richardson. This was Richardson’s first trip to Cuba. And during a meeting with Cuban President Raul Castro, she asked if they could meet with his brother Fidel. It turned out to be the first time (that we know of) that US officials have met with the Cuban revolutionary leader since his intestinal surgery three years ago.
Richardson said she wasn’t even born when Fidel Castro led the Cuban revolution. And she came to Cuba expecting to see what others had told her about modern Cuba: people without shoes, without jobs, without even ice cream. Instead, she said, she saw Cubans in better situations than people in parts of her own district. Her district includes Watts and Compton, where unemployment is over 18 percent. Richardson said unlike southern California, in Cuba she didn’t see “rows of homeless people,” she didn’t see “trash,” or “mentally ill people living under bridges.” Instead, she said she saw “a community where they may not have much,” but people were “working, taking care of their families.” She also praised Cuban health care and education, and pointed out that one of her own constituents from Long Beach is attending medical school on a complete scholarship. “Where’s that happening in my district?” she asked.
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- April 8, 2009 12:12 PM by Kitty Felde
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