C6 ROBERTMCCARTNEY


Mini-revolution on Metro board augurs well for transit system in coming new year


mccartney from C1 They both believe that Metro’s


only real problemis lack ofmon- ey, when in fact ineffective man- agement and governance share much of the blame. Studies by a series of outside experts, ranging from federal safety monitors to private business consultants, have repeatedly concluded that Metro has been poorly run in numerousways. Of course, there’s no guarantee


that the two replacements on the board, which has eight voting members,will do any better. Filling Zimmerman’s seat


starting in January will be fellow Arlington County Board member MaryH.Hynes (D). In the District, council Chair-


man-elect Brown is likely to ap- point D.C. Council member Tom- my Wells (D-Ward 6) to replace Graham, according to people fa- miliar with Brown’s thinking. They spoke on condition of ano- nymity because an official an- nouncement isn’t expected until Tuesday. Graham,whowas scheduled to


talk to Brown on Monday, said Saturday that he still hoped to remain on the board. But he was philosophical about the prospect of departing after nearly 12 years, saying: “I think there’s an over- whelming desire for change right nowontheMetroboard.Obvious- ly it’s affected Zimmerman, it’s affected others.” The turnover comes as the re-


gion’s political and business lead- ershipis finallymaking a concert- ed push to overhaul Metro’s un- wieldy governance apparatus. A subplot in this tale is thatBrown’s role helping to lead the reform effort has apparently contributed directly to his plan to remove Graham. Brown was co-chair of a blue-


ribbon task force, sponsored by the Metropolitan Washington Council of Governments and the Greater Washington Board of Trade, that issued an ambitious report in November urging changes inMetro governance.


While serving in that position,


Brown sat in on private inter- views with current and former Metro officials, including former general managers. Many of them complained that some individual boardmembersmadedemandsof Metrostaff eventhoughtheboard is supposed to act only as a group. Much of the criticism was di-


rected at Graham, according to several sourceswhospokeoncon- dition of anonymity because the discussions were confidential. Board of Trade President and chief executive Jim Dinegar has said such interference helped cre- ate “a culture of fear” in Metro’s topmanagement. There’s little doubt that this


dissatisfaction helped prompt Brownto planto replaceGraham. In fact, Brown deserves applause for taking such a direct interest in an important regional issue. Oth- er top politicians in our area — like the governors of Virginia and Maryland, say — ought to take notes. Graham defended his record,


saying he opposedmicromanage- ment. He said he seldom went to theMetro staffwith problems but acknowledged that he regularly raised details with whoever was general manager. Graham also said he thought the task force largely represented suburban views. “I have received virtually no


criticism from the people of the District of Columbia, and they’re thepeoplewhobroughtme tothis dance,”Grahamsaid. As for Zimmerman, he said he


stepped down because Metro’s troublesmeanthe jobhasbecome too demanding as hemoves up to be Arlington County Board chair- man in 2011. He also might have realized that after nearly 13 years itwas just time to go. May new faces in a new year


mean new success in rehabilitat- ing the troubled transit system. mccartneyr@washpost.com


I’mgoing on holiday. The column returns Jan. 2withmy 2011 predictions quiz.


Soldier from Virginia dies in Afghanistan


Army specialist saw military service as ‘the right thing to do’


BY MARTINWEIL Sean Cutsforth grew up in


Northern Virginia, entered col- lege on a baseball scholarship and attended for three semes- ters, his wife said. Then he joined the Army. “He


just told me one day that he thought it was the right thing to do,” said his wife, Ashley. And so Sean R. Cutsforth, 22,


the left-handed pitcher who had attended high school in Prince William County, became a sol- dier in the 101st Airborne Divi- sion (Air Assault). Spec. Cutsforth died Dec. 15 in


Afghanistan’s Ghazni province after he was struck by small- arms fire, according to a state- ment fromFort Campbell, where his division was based. Cutsforth was born at Fort


Belvoir and grew up in the Ma- nassas and Gainesville areas of PrinceWilliam, his wife said. He went to Brentsville District High School. An outgoingman, “he was one


of those genuine all-around, would-do-anything-for-anybody type of persons,” his wife said. “I don’t think anybody ever had a negativememory of Sean.” Sports and outdoor activities


always interested him, and he had been swimming since hewas a small child. A newspaper report on ameet


held by the PrinceWilliamSwim League in summer 1999 listed


him as a winner for the Ben Lomond team in three events, including freestyle and back- stroke for boys ages 9 and 10. Many such reports followed in


swimming and other sports. As a sophomore at Brentsville in 2004, Cutsforth was listed as a member of a swim medley relay team that was to compete in the state championships. He was honored for his baseball skills at Brentsville in 2006. His wife said he played foot-


ball as well as baseball at Brents- ville, and was also on a traveling youth baseball team. She said Cutsforth received a


scholarship to VirginiaWesleyan College in Norfolk and spent three semesters there. He stud- ied recreation and leisure activi- ties and coached swimming. But, she said, he “thought it


was his duty to serve his coun- try.” On Sept. 23, 2008, she said, he


enlisted in the Army. After basic training he was stationed at Fort Campbell, and this year was deployed to Afghanistan. Cutsforth’s father, Robert,


lives in Gainesville and mother Vickie inManassas, she said. Cutsforth’s family includes a


brother, Ryan, who lives in Gainesville, and sisters Casey of Blacksburg and Kayla of Chris- tiansburg, Va., according to his wife. Ashley Cutsforth said she met


her husband in early 2008 in Radford, Va., where his brother was living.Theymarried in2009, she said, on the Fourth of July. She said she is expecting a


child. It’s a boy, she said. weilm@washpost.com


Hotel tax bill pits Web sites against D.C. travel from C1 The District is facing a


$440 million budget shortfall next year, and the council tenta- tively approved the measure two weeks ago as a way to add up to $10 million annually for city coffers. But leading up to Tuesday’s


final vote, online travel vendors have mounted a campaign to try to convince residents that the council is poised to increase the costs associated with using such sites. Furthermore, online travel vendors say the legislation is poorly crafted and would force travel agents and tour planners to stop booking hotel rooms in the city. “We are very concerned this


If only you had home delivery.


1-800-753-POST SF


taxwould create significant, neg- ative consequences for the travel and tourism industry in D.C. amidst a down economy and could put a significant number of jobs at risk,” said Andrew Wein- stein, spokesman for Interactive Travel Services Association, which represents all the major online travel companies. Weinstein denied that online


travel vendors keep a portion of collected tax revenues. If the bill passes, he cautioned that it would be “a new tax” that “hits every single intermediary who books hotel rooms for visitors” and would force agents to place clients in the suburbs. “Even wedding planners will


be hit,” he said. “This might as well be called the Arlington and National Harbor [in Prince George’s County] tourismact.” Online travel vendors are try-


ing to derail the bill with a radio ad that hit local airwaves last week. “From the porters who get visitors’ bags to the staff cleaning rooms to the people at the restau- rant, they are allworking hard,” a narrator says. “Butwhile they are working this holiday season to care for visitors, the D.C. Council is working to put these employ- ees out of work.” Officialswith theHotelAssoci-


ation of Washington, D.C., strongly support the legislation, arguing that sites such as Ho- tels.com are hurting the local tourism industry by not remit- ting their fair share of taxes back to the city. A portion of the city’s


hotel tax is spent to fund the Washington Convention and Sports Authority. “It will provide additional re-


sources to the convention center and the city,” said Solomon Keene, president of the associa- tion. “There is no evidence busi- nesswould be diverted to Virgin- ia, and there would be no impact on jobs.” Keene also disputes the online


travel industry’s assertion that the legislation would impact travel agents or tour planners, saying the measure is narrowly drafted to affect only online travel sites. “I have no idea who’s right,”


said council member Jack Evans (D-Ward 2), chairman of the Committee on Finance andReve- nue. “I just decided to move the bill and let themfight it out.” In recent years,more than 200


cities have sued or approved legislation seeking back or future tax revenue from online travel sites. While some lower courts have agreed with the plaintiffs, Weinstein noted that most state and appellate courts have sided with the online vendors.


In one ruling last month, a


federal judge dismissed a suit by Columbus and several other cit- ies that sought millions in back taxes. The judge ruled the online sites are assessing fees, not taxes, according to the Columbus Dispatch. Meanwhile, District Chief Financial Officer Natwar M. Gandhi has warned council members against relying on any funds that Brown’s legislation may generate if it is approved. New York City recently


amended its hotel tax laws, but there are signs the travel vendors are finding success in rallying online consumers. In November, voters in San Francisco rejected a proposal to make that city’s full hotel tax apply to online vendors. But Brown and Keene said the


cost of booking a room online would not increase if the legisla- tion is approved. “The person who uses the site isn’t impacted at all, because they are paying the tax nomatter what,” Brown said. Not so fast, countered Wein-


stein. “When does a tax not get


filtered down?” he asked. craigt@washpost.com


PHOTOS BY ASTRID RIECKEN FOR THE WASHINGTON POST


TheNational Zoo on Saturday revealed the names of seven lion cubs that were born at the zoo, having gathered submissions from a naming contest and suggestions from the lion keepers and from zoo supporters.


Among the audience members at the debut was 4-year-oldMatthewCameron, left, of Arlington County, who, with his friends, chose the name Baruti for one cub. The other winning names are Lusaka, Fahari, Zuri, Lelie, John and—honoring the character in the “Chronicles ofNarnia” book series and movie franchise—Aslan.


To learn the special meaning behind each of the cub’s names, visit nationalzoo.si.edu.


EZ SU


KLMNO


SUNDAY, DECEMBER 19, 2010 Alexandria schools work on image, outreach


Consultant hired to help system attract support


BY KEVIN SIEFF The man who got Wendy’s to


ask “Where’s the beef?” in its legendary 1980s marketing cam- paign has a newchallenge:Help- ing Alexandria’s public schools better sell themselves to poten- tial donors and volunteers. AlanHilburg, the communica-


tions consultant whose work for Wendy’s was followed by efforts to polish the reputations of Leo- na Helmsley and Don Imus dur- ing periods of controversy, is seeking to improve the image of a school district that is Northern Virginia’s most diverse and, by somemeasures, its least success- ful. The federal government la- beled the system’s only high school, T.C.Williams, among the nation’s “persistently lowest achieving” inMarch. Developing marketing strate-


gies are common for companies and colleges but rarely a priority for school districts. Superinten- dentMort Sherman, who prefers the term “community outreach strategy,” says he hopes the effort helps the district attract more private donations and other sup- port at a time when fiscal strain


makes it hard to pay for new initiatives. Hilburg will make $48,000 —


an amount district officials hope will be repaid several times over in new corporate support. The school district also is working to establish a local education foun- dation that would make it easier for companies to donate money to Alexandria schools. “It’s about building a more


effective bridge between the classroom and the community,” Hilburg said. “It’s about creating a sense of social responsibility in Alexandria.” Hilburg is one of several exter-


nal consultants Sherman has tapped since he was hired in 2008. In the last two years, the district’s expenditures on consul- tants have increased threefold, to more than $900,000.Much of that money, Sherman said, has been spent on specialists charged with overhauling nine Alexandria schools that didn’t meet federal standards last year. The school district’s search for


a better community outreach program has begun in focus groups across the city, where Hilburg asks collections of par- ents and teachers to share anec- dotes that might bolster the district’s reputation. “Somany people come towork


here every day, and they don’t know what’s happening in the local school system,” Hilburg


Who needs a baby-name book?


said. School districts across the


country increasingly have turned to the private sector to cover budget shortfalls or pay for new programs. Former D.C. Schools chancellor Michelle A. Rhee this year tapped $65 million in pri- vate grants to help pay for teach- er raises and bonuses. Private foundations have


caught on with particular force among Northern Virginia schools, home to some of the nation’s wealthiest communities and fastest-growing districts. Fairfax County, Virginia’s biggest school district, is preparing to start a second foundation to enhance its ability to attract donations. Alexandria schools, which


serve some of the least-affluent parts of the region, are fighting not only for private-sector assis- tance, Sherman said, but to dis- tinguish themselves from neigh- boring districts. “People often lump Arlington


and Alexandria together, but we’re incredibly different. Our level of service has to be better understood,” he said. The district includes more


non-native English speakers and students who receive free and reduced-price lunches than neighboring school divisions. Since 2002, the district has con- sistently failed tomakeAdequate Yearly Progress under the federal


No Child Left BehindAct, but the on-time graduation rate has climbed several percentage points in recent years, to 79 percent. School officials say theywould


like to organizemore opportuni- ties for business leaders to spend time in Alexandria classrooms. “We’re trying to engage them


emotionally,” Hilburg said. “A brand is not slogan or a product. It’s an experience.” With the help of six interns, he


has compiled a list of more than 1,000 Alexandria businesses and organizations that might be per- suaded to donate time or volun- teer hours to local schools. But community engagement


in Alexandria, where a smaller portion of public funds is distrib- uted to education than in almost any other school division in the Washington area, remains a challenge. For every 10 people moving into the city, there is only one school-age child, according to the city’s statistics, leaving new residents with little person- al connection to the school sys- tem. Hilburg, who says his work


might not end with a new catch- phrase or logo, nevertheless pep- pers his explanation of the cam- paign with would-be slogans: “Try us, you’ll like us,” for exam- ple. Or “ACPS — it’s Alexandria’s best kept secret.” sieffk@washpost.com


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