Every Tuesday and Thursday, we run down what’s going on in local Internet discussion groups.

TakomaDC
Those turning leaves look real pretty this time of year, but once they start to pile up on the ground, they send residents into a discussion on proper leaf disposal. Alice reminds that “it is not legal to sweep leaves from your property onto the street. When it rains they end up clogging the gutters, then the city has to send a separate crew out to clean the gutters. Put them on the tree lawn.” But not everyone gets the memo. “today as I was strolling my son to Safeway, I saw some guys cleaning the leaves from someone’s yard (I think it was 7th & Van Buren) and actually raking the leaves into the gutter,” one resident reports. “Didn’t seem right, but wasn’t 100% sure, so I didn’t say anything.” Pam on Underwood writes, “Someone should tell the people across the park…I travel over there every day to pick up my granddaughter from school, and there are huge piles of leaves in the streets!” Another resident worries that she might not be doing enough: “In front of my home, we have a ton of leaves in the street because, well, that’s where they fell. Should I plan to rake those up into the tree box, too?”

concerned4DCPS
LeRoy has had enough of school-board hearings and the accompanying lip service about fixing the litany of problems with the city’s schools. “I get the feeling I’m watching a meeting of robots,” he writes. “Dull proceedings designed to lull us to sleep. My impression from watching them is there is no real problem in the school system. No emergency, no urgency, nothing to get excited about, no problem. Watching this absolutely dysfunctional school board operate on cable TV, you would not know that most of the children and teachers are in seriously deteriorating conditions. Maybe the board members have a different meaning for words.”

So he decides to create a list of those definitions. A sampling:

Drop-out means smaller class size.
Co-location means boys and girls in the same classroom.
Excess space: Developement opportunity.
Parents: 3 minutes of irritation for school bd. that members put up with at hearings. Children: Something to talk about when running for public office.
Charter Schools: Education Condo Conversions for future Yuppies who may have children
Board of Education: Entry level for City Council
Developers: Bribe Givers
City Council: Bribe Takers