Path: bloom-picayune.mit.edu!snorkelwacker.mit.edu!americast.com!americast.com!americast-post Newsgroups: americast.twt.news From: americast-post@AmeriCast.Com Organization: American Cybercasting Approved: americast-post@AmeriCast.com Subject: An Arkansas traveler visits Date: Thu, 19 Nov 92 15:23:03 EST Message-ID: \SE A \HD An Arkansas traveler visits \BY Vincent McCraw and Jonetta Rose Barras \CR THE WASHINGTON TIMES They gave him flowers, a calendar and, of course, a Washington Redskins cap. They asked for jobs, safe streets and statehood. In return, President-elect Bill Clinton told a throng of D.C. residents lining the 5200 block of Georgia Avenue that he intends to travel into more neighborhoods of his new home city and pledged that his administration will fulfill their requests. "I expect to be out in the city quite a lot. I thought if I came out here on this first [post-election] visit to Washington it would send a strong message to America that I want to help small businesses and turn this crime around," Mr. Clinton told Wong M. Chong, owner of Hamilton Wine & Liquor and one of several merchants he chatted with during his stroll. "I want jobs for the people around here," Mr. Chong said. "I understand," the Arkansas governor said. "They can't do business with you if they don't have money, can they? We've got some plans to put people back to work." Mr. Clinton's neighborhood tour was coordinated by Ward 4 D.C. Council member Charlene Drew Jarvis, who represents the Petworth area and was co-chairman of the D.C. Clinton campaign. "He said he wanted to see Washington and he came," said Mrs. Jarvis, a possible Clinton appointee. Georgia Avenue is one of the longest continuous thoroughfares in the area, running from Florida Avenue in the city through Silver Spring and deep into Montgomery County. In the District, small businesses are dotted along the corridor from Florida Avenue near Howard University to the Maryland border near Walter Reed Army Medical Center. People began gathering in the 5200 block of Georgia Avenue as early as 11 a.m., waiting in lines to go through three metal detectors. Mr. Clinton arrived shortly after 3 p.m., minutes after a White House visit with President Bush. Some shops were closed for nearly an hour as the Secret Service conducted a security sweep, and nearby residents couldn't enter or leave their homes. Mr. Clinton, wearing the Redskins cap, spent a little more than an hour discussing the problems of small businesses before fulfilling his first promise to the crowd, who urged him to walk the few yards to the police barriers and shake hands. "I'm coming! I'm coming! I'll be right there," he shouted, eliciting cheers. One woman, Bernadette, vowed never to wash her right hand after Mr. Clinton shook it. She said she also asked him to "do something about the cost of Medicare. It's too high." "He said, 'I'll see what I can do about it,' " she said. Some D.C. officials used the occasion to criticize the Bush administration. "For this city, this is the kind of symbolic act we desperately need," said D.C. Delegate Eleanor Holmes Norton. "Our problem has been an unfriendly administration for 12 years. By coming here, he has said, 'Yes, I'm here with you.' " Mayor Sharon Pratt Kelly said the new administration will be a "better partner" for the city. She's hoping he will infuse "massive training dollars" that are "desperately needed." "We have been pleading for that, but we have not got a response from this administration. . . . [Labor Secretary] Lynn Martin has done what she could, but there has been no commitment from this administration on the part of training dollars," Mrs. Kelly said. Mr. Clinton reminisced with Board of Education President R. David Hall about the time during Clinton's campaign visit here that they were together in the principal's office at Jefferson Junior High School. "You remember that?" Mr. Clinton asked. "Is Vera White still the principal? Give her my love. I love that woman. She is a very special woman." Jefferson Junior High in Southwest is one of the city's most respected public schools, having received national attention for its innovative math and science programs. Schools were the topic of an exchange between Mr. Clinton and a woman who suggested he send his 12-year-old daughter, Chelsea, to Alice Deal Junior High in upper Northwest. "Do you have a child there?" he asked. "Do you recommend it?" "Eighth grade. It's great. Definitely," the woman responded. "We've got Chelsea looking at four or five different schools and that's one of them," Mr. Clinton said. School officials hope the Clintons settle on public schools. Francis Junior High near Washington Circle has been tossed around, in addition to Jefferson and Deal. Two private schools, Sidwell Friends and Georgetown Day, also are under consideration, sources said. Throughout his visit, Mr. Clinton talked in general terms about his plans to improve the small-business climate and to make it possible for owners and employees to have health insurance. But it was an 85-year-old blind woman who may have best summed up the day's mood. "Oh, I'm so happy to see you and I wish you great success," said the woman, who identified herself as Mrs. Matthews. This article is copyright 1992 The Washington Times. Redistribution to other sites is not permitted except by arrangement with American Cybercasting Corporation. For more information, send-email to usa@AmeriCast.COM