Dear Readers,
 

    There is lots going on in the world:  many causes that deserve our attention, justice for immigrants, people of color, people of low income, LGBTQ, and other marginalized groups; protecting our Earth’s environment--- and resisting the intolerance and boneheaded policies of the Trump administration, to name just a few.  As just one example, the Trump administration’s policies toward immigration are draconian, and cruel.  I am proud to say that my church, Cedar Lane Unitarian Universalist Church is now a physical Sanctuary, having offered safe haven to Rosa, an immigrant woman from El Salvador who, threatened with deportation is pursuing her case for asylum, in the Courts.  See http://cedarlane.org and https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yj0d1U37GOI .

    I think that sometimes, though, it is important to focus on issues that are perhaps lower on the radar screen, but that have impact on our daily lives, and also may have larger implications in terms of social justice.

Consider, for example, the situation with the historic Farm Women’s Market in Bethesda.  It is a historic institution, and a part of the unique character of its immediate neighborhood: a farmers’ market going back to the time of Franklin Roosevelt and the Great Depression.  Some of the vendors there are descendants of the original founders.  Economic pressures, including exceedingly high County real estate taxes have forced the vendors into a situation where they feel that their only option is to sell the market to large real estate developers, who are only interested in lining their own pockets.  These developers also want to build huge high rises adjacent to, and across Wisconsin Avenue from, the market---this in a part of Bethesda that already has too much in the way of development.  My article on the subject appears in the print edition of the Washington Post, Sunday, December 23, 2018, Metro Section, page C4; and the same article appears online on the Washington Post website at : https://wapo.st/2EA2DEy .

 

    On another front,    I am concerned about a trend of local businesses that refuse to take cash from paying customers for good and services.  Use of cash is simply a lifestyle choice for some; but for others: people of low income, the “unbanked”, and those who cannot afford a credit card or a smart phone, these policies are discriminatory.  I had an article on this subject published in the Washington Post several months ago.  My article appeared in the print edition of the Washington Post on Sunday, August 12, 2018, in the Metro section, page C4, and it also appears online on the Washington Post Website at:  https://wapo.st/2AXzxic and I invite you to take a look, for a further explanation of my views on this subject.               

    The Washington Post website allows readers to comment on stories in the paper, and with respect to my article about businesses going cashless, there is an interesting comment online from a reader in a small rural town in upstate New York, where there is a lot of poverty and a lot of people don’t have smart phones or use credit cards, or even have bank accounts.  A totally different world from those of us who live in neighborhoods like mine.  We need to look beyond our own tech savvy and financially secure bubble! There is another world out there---even in our own country.


Sincerely,


Deborah A. Vollmer
7202 44th Street
Town of Chevy Chase