Mr. Alexander M. Padro

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  ADSW: Washington DC's Monuments and Memorials - [Cached Version]
  Published on: 5/22/2001    Last Visited: 6/3/2008  

  In this slide-illustrated presentation, Alexander M. Padro, author of Washington's Monuments: The Memorials of the Nation's Capital,will explore representative examples of important types of memorials featuring the Art Deco aesthetic, including sculptural monuments, fountains, and relief tablets.The persons these memorials honor, how they came to be sited and erected, and the creative artists who produced them will be discussed in detail.An overview of other Deco memorials in the city and environs, including later work by the same artists, will also be provided.
  
  Alexander M. Padro is a Washington, DC historian and expert on the city's commemorative sculpture.A member of the Art Deco Society of Washington's Preservation Committee and the DC Preservation League's Landmarks Committee, Mr. Padro is co-chair of the program committee for the annual Conference on Washington, DC Historical Studies.

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  Announcing Washington’s Most Endangered Places 2000 - [Cached Version]
  Published on: 10/1/2000    Last Visited: 9/9/2006  

  Co-chairs: Alexander M. Padro and Jerry Maronek
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  Produced by Landmarks Committee Members Doug Pulak, Cathy Anderton, Wanda Bubriski, Jerry Maronek, and Alexander M. Padro

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  April 8, 2002 - News - D.C. library officials mull... - [Cached Version]
  Published on: 4/8/2002    Last Visited: 8/21/2003  

  "The Office of Planning has considered moving the Martin Luther King Jr. Memorial Library to the current location of the convention center, and I'm absolutely opposed to that," said Alexander M. Padro, an outspoken member of the library's Board of Trustees.D.C. planners say the District needs a cultural anchor for the old convention center site - about a block away from the city's main library - to continue development, and they have also considered making the current convention center space into a national music museum, Padro said.
  
  "That area ... needs more hotels, residential and commercial space instead," Padro said.
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  "All 27 library branches will be restored from the largest library to the smallest kiosk," Padro said.
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  Padro called the central library "the only example of major architecture in the District."
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  Padro noted that the main library "has had little to no maintenance.The fourth floor faces Ninth Street with floor-to-ceiling windows - there's a great view, but it's used for back office space.
  
  "There needs to be a dramatic increase in the number of computers, areas for children and proper climate control.Currently, photos of the Washington Star newspaper collection are melting in 80-degree temperatures," he said.
  
  Padro was among members of the library's Board of Trustees who testified March 27 before the city council's library oversight committee and said that Mayor Anthony A. Williams' proposed fiscal 2003 budget will again "shortchange" their ability to provide adequate library services to the public.
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  Each year, our requests for enhancements to our budget to allow us to begin to address past under-funding have been rebuffed by the Williams administration," Padro said in his testimony before Councilman Kevin P. Chavous's committee.

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  April 9, 2001 - News - 'Shortchanging' the library - [Cached Version]
  Published on: 7/2/2002    Last Visited: 7/2/2002  

  The city government has fallen into a mindset of getting by with the bare minimum when it comes to the library and should make a significant investment in the facilities now while the city is prospering, said Alexander M. Padro, a member of the D.C. Board of Library Trustees and an advisory neighborhood commissioner in Ward 2.
  
  "We never shifted out of the mindset that we have no money to spend on services – the only exception being the school system," Padro said."There's been a huge amount of cash given to the school system ... in operating funds alone."
  
  The mayor has proposed a $26 million operating budget for fiscal 2002 for the library system.The library received about $25 million and $23 million, respectively, in fiscal 2001 and fiscal 2000 in local dollars.Library officials requested $27.9 million in operating funds for fiscal 2002.
  
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  "It's discomforting that [Williams] hasn't made ... public acknowledgment of the fact that our libraries are in bad shape," Padro said.
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  But Padro said that "it's something of a smack in the face to the board that special requests were totally ignored … They've got money to spend on just about everything else."
  
  He said that the government has forgotten that the libraries are an integral part of education, and that citizens rely on the libraries' services to be of good quality, readily available and housed in respectable buildings.
  
  "I'm appalled that the city has been grossly under-funding our libraries," said Padro, who is serving his first year on the Library Board of Trustees.

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  April 9, 2001 - News - 'Shortchanging' the library - [Cached Version]
  Published on: 4/9/2001    Last Visited: 6/29/2005  

  The city government has fallen into a mindset of getting by with the bare minimum when it comes to the library and should make a significant investment in the facilities now while the city is prospering, said Alexander M. Padro, a member of the D.C. Board of Library Trustees and an advisory neighborhood commissioner in Ward 2.
  
  "We never shifted out of the mindset that we have no money to spend on services - the only exception being the school system," Padro said.
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  "It's discomforting that [Williams] hasn't made ... public acknowledgment of the fact that our libraries are in bad shape," Padro said.
  ...
  But Padro said that "it's something of a smack in the face to the board that special requests were totally ignored ... money to spend on just about everything else."
  
  He said that the government has forgotten that the libraries are an integral part of education, and that citizens rely on the libraries' services to be of good quality, readily available and housed in respectable buildings.
  
  "I'm appalled that the city has been grossly under-funding our libraries," said Padro, who is serving his first year on the Library Board of Trustees.

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  April 9, 2001 - News - 'Shortchanging' the library - [Cached Version]
  Published on: 4/9/2001    Last Visited: 7/20/2001  

  The city government has fallen into a mindset of getting by with the bare minimum when it comes to the library and should make a significant investment in the facilities now while the city is prospering , said Alexander M. Padro , a member of the D.C. Board of Library Trustees and an advisory neighborhood commissioner in Ward 2.
  
  We never shifted out of the mindset that we have no money to spend on services – the only exception being the school system , Padro said.There's been a huge amount of cash given to the school system ... in operating funds alone..
  
  The mayor has proposed a $26 million operating budget for fiscal 2002 for the library system.The library received about $25 million and $23 million , respectively , in fiscal 2001 and fiscal 2000 in local dollars.Library officials requested $27.9 million in operating funds for fiscal 2002.
  
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  Padro said he is upset that Mayor Williams did not mention the library as a priority in his annual State of the District address last month , despite expressing support on other occasions.
  
  It's discomforting that [ Williams ] hasn't made ... public acknowledgment of the fact that our libraries are in bad shape , Padro said.
  
  Williams' budget proposal forwarded to the city council , characterized by his administration as being back to basics , does not include any of the five requested enhancement packages that library supporters are seeking.These include $569 , 000 for books and materials , and money to hire more technology staff , one Youth Adult Specialist for each of the full-service branch libraries , and two special police officers to patrol the branch system.
  
  A spokesman for the mayor said that few enhancement projects were funded in any government agency for fiscal 2002 , in part because of a federally mandated requirement that the District must hold $150 million in operating budget reserves.
  
  The fiscal year 2002 budget I sent to the council is not about a lot of fancy new programs or lots of new spending.It's about doing more with what's available , Williams said.
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  But Padro said that it's something of a smack in the face to the board that special requests were totally ignored … They've got money to spend on just about everything else..
  
  He said that the government has forgotten that the libraries are an integral part of education , and that citizens rely on the libraries' services to be of good quality , readily available and housed in respectable buildings.
  
  I'm appalled that the city has been grossly under-funding our libraries , said Padro , who is serving his first year on the Library Board of Trustees.

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  D.C. Preservation League: The Most Endangered... - [Cached Version]
  Published on: 1/1/2001    Last Visited: 6/14/2008  

  Co-chairs: Alexander M. Padro and Jerry Maronek

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  D.C. Preservation League: The Most Endangered... - [Cached Version]
  Published on: 1/1/2001    Last Visited: 6/14/2008  

  Co-chairs: Alexander M. Padro and Marc Fetterman

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  D.C. Preservation League: The Most Endangered... - [Cached Version]
  Published on: 1/1/2000    Last Visited: 6/14/2008  

  Co-chairs: Alexander M. Padro and Jerry Maronek

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  Washington City Paper Cover Story: Read 'Em and Weep - [Cached Version]
  Published on: 4/18/2003    Last Visited: 5/15/2003  

  -Alex Padro, member of the Board of Library Trustees
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  Alex Padro, a member of the D.C. Preservation League as well as the library board, says that Cooper's recommendations won over many of those who had grown disenchanted with MLK."Their blinders were lifted," says Padro.
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  But Padro objected.
  
  As a member of the D.C. Preservation League, Padro had applauded the Cooper sketches for renovating MLK.At the time of Cooper's presentation, city officials had been supportive as well-or so Padro thought.Recently, however, Mayor Williams proposed cutting $6.5 million from the fiscal year 2004 capital budget that had been set aside for renovating MLK.What had changed their minds?Padro suspected a coverup.
  
  By moving the central library to a new site, Padro reasons, the city will be paving the way for a lucrative side deal."The land is worth more without MLK on it," says Padro.
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  Padro thinks that the deal is already in the works, even if, like most conspiracy theories, his accusations are higher on anxiety than on evidence.
  
  One act in particular solidified Padro's suspicions.
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  says Padro.
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  Lurking beneath Padro's bluster lies the root of his discontent.Padro, like Gosswein, loves the building.He doesn't want the library system to lose it."Why should we give it up?"asks Padro.

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