Newspaper Supports ‘Amplified Speech Day’

Capitol Hill’s very own Voice of the Hill (VOH) newspaper examines--and supports in an editorial--efforts by neighbors living in and around the 700 block of 8th St NE to focus attention on a festering noise issue. Here’s an excerpt from the May 25th story, Hill Residents To Protest Noise Ordinance in Georgetown:

Fed up with the blaring amplifiers in their front yards on Saturday afternoons, some residents on the 700 block of Eighth Street, NE, are going to give the folks of Georgetown a sample of what they live with every weekend.

What’s more, a separate VOH editorial supports the 8th Street neighbors’ action, and provides a glimpse and what may be stalling any fix to the broken statute. An excerpt:

We usually do not use these editorial pages to encourage civil disobedience, but this time we cannot resist…
…Councilman Jim Graham, who held hearings on the noise issue, has said his hands are tied because it’s a free speech issue. But what the good councilman is really saying is that unions have leaned on him because they want the ability to picket with amplifiers outside hotels, which are sometimes across from residential neighborhoods. We support the residents who have tried every means to solve the situation civilly. Let’s just hope their amplified protest will not fall on deaf ears.

The complete editorial can be viewed by downloading a PDF version of VOH.