Gay
D.C.
Councilmember
David
Catania
(I-At-Large)
said
he
is
asking
officials
at
the
city’s
HIV/AIDS
Administration
to
explain
why
they
arranged
for
the
expenditure
of
more
than
$438,000
to
produce
a
HAA-sponsored
town
hall
meeting
and
reception
on
Dec.
1
to
commemorate
World
AIDS
Day.
Catania,
who
chairs
the
Council’s
Committee
on
Health,
said
he
and
other
members
of
the
committee
plan
to
question
officials
at
HAA
and
the
D.C.
Department
of
Health
about
the
World
AIDS
Day
events
at
separate
oversight
hearings
on
March
3
and
March
17.
HAA
is
an
arm
of
the
DOH.
According
to
information
that
DOH
has
already
turned
over
to
the
committee,
the
expenses
included
an
$8,000
fee
to
Channel
7
anchorwoman
Maureen
Bunyan
for
her
duties
as
host
of
the
town
hall
meeting,
which
lasted
three
hours.
Other
expenses
included
$17,300
in
fees
for
use
of
the
City
Museum
for
the
town
hall
event
and
$4,250
in
fees
for
use
of
the
National
Museum
for
Women
in
the
Arts
for
the
reception.
“There
is
a
process
in
place,
and
this
committee
will
give
them
every
opportunity
to
explain
why
they
decided
to
spend
that
money,”
Catania
said.
But
he
added,
“This
is
clearly
a
mistake.
And
we’re
going
to
put
them
on
the
record
that
this
is
not
to
be
repeated.”
Leila
Abrar,
a
spokesperson
for
the
DOH,
said
she
was
making
inquiries
to
obtain
information
about
the
World
AIDS
Day
events
and
the
department’s
reasons
for
holding
them
but
did
not
provide
such
information
by
press
time.
Sharon
Gang,
D.C.
Mayor
Anthony
Williams’
deputy
press
secretary,
said
she,
too,
would
attempt
to
obtain
information
about
the
events
from
the
mayor’s
office
but
did
not
provide
the
information
by
press
time.
In
an
announcement
seeking
a
vendor
to
produce
the
World
AIDS
Day
events,
HAA
stated
its
intent
was
to
use
the
events
to
“increase
awareness
of
this
global
pandemic”
through
“a
comprehensive
marketing
and
awareness
campaign.”
“HAA’s
goals
with
this
project
include
decreasing
the
rate
of
new
HIV
infections,
promoting
and
expanding
access
to
treatment
for
women,
and
engaging
new
and
current
stakeholders
in
a
meaningful
way
to
help
fight
the
rise
in
infection
rates
among
women
and
girls,”
the
announcement
said.
Two
sources
familiar
with
HAA,
who
spoke
on
condition
of
anonymity,
said
the
World
AIDS
Day
events
were
the
idea
of
Lydia
Watts,
a
senior
deputy
director
of
the
DOH
who
oversees
HAA.
Watts,
who
started
in
her
post
at
DOH
last
September,
raised
concerns
among
some
HAA
staffers,
who
considered
the
World
AIDS
Day
events
to
be
too
expensive,
the
sources
said.
Catania
said
he
has
yet
to
find
out
where
DOH
obtained
the
more
than
$400,000
in
funds
for
the
World
AIDS
Day
events.
He
said
he
would
insist
upon
a
full
disclosure
of
the
origin
of
the
funds
at
his
upcoming
hearings.
Catania
noted
that
the
decision
by
DOH
and
HAA
to
spend
nearly
a
half
million
dollars
on
World
AIDS
Day
events
came
shortly
before
HAA
disclosed
that
it
was
reducing
funds
for
two
local
AIDS
prevention
programs
that
target
gay
men.
HAA
informed
the
Whitman-Walker
Clinic
last
month
that
it
was
cutting
the
budget
for
its
“G-Net”
HIV
prevention
program
from
$200,000
in
2004
to
$75,000
in
2005.
HAA
also
informed
the
AIDS
group
Us
Helping
Us,
which
provides
services
to
black
gay
men,
that
it
was
cutting
its
HIV
prevention
grant
—
from
$200,000
last
year
to
$75,000
in
2005.
Both
Whitman-Walker
and
Us
Helping
Us
said
the
cuts
forced
them
to
lay
off
employees
who
specialized
in
HIV
prevention
outreach
work.
The
World
AIDS
Day
expenditures
also
came
shortly
before
HAA
eliminated
a
$100,000
grant
that
enabled
Us
Helping
Us
to
provide
AIDS
prevention
services
to
transgendered
people.
A
document
posted
on
the
Web
site
of
the
D.C.
Office
of
Contracting
&
Procurement
shows
that
DOH
issued
a
$409,200
contract
to
SRB
Productions,
Inc.,
a
local
events
and
video
production
company
to
produce
and
promote
the
World
AIDS
Day
events
on
behalf
of
the
city.
The
contract
accounts
for
most
of
the
DOH
funds
used
for
the
World
AIDS
Day
events.
The
costs
associated
with
Bunyan’s
fee
for
moderating
the
town
hall
meeting
and
the
rental
of
space
at
the
City
Museum
and
the
National
Museum
for
Women
in
the
Arts
—
which
came
to
$29,550
—
were
in
addition
to
the
$409,200
contract
with
SRB
Productions.
According
to
documents
released
by
the
contracting
and
procurement
office,
the
SRB
contract
called
for
the
firm
to
produce,
videotape
and
photograph
the
town
hall
meeting
and
reception
and
to
organize
a
news
conference
to
announce
the
events.
In
ads
placed
in
local
community
newspapers,
HAA
said
the
town
hall
meeting
was
aimed
at
drawing
attention
to
how
AIDS
has
affected
women,
including
women
of
color.
The
event
was
entitled,
“Am
I
My
Sister’s
Keeper?
Women,
Girls
and
HIV/AIDS.”
Dianne
Simmons
William,
wife
of
Mayor
Williams,
was
listed
as
one
of
the
invited
guests
at
the
event.
The
contract
awarded
to
SRB
Productions
specifically
called
for
the
firm
to
retain
Maureen
Bunyan
as
moderator
of
the
town
hall
event.
Bunyan
said
that
her
contract
at
Channel
7
prohibits
her
from
accepting
any
government
money,
so
she
arranged
with
the
production
company
to
have
the
$8,000
fee
donated
to
her
favorite
charity,
which
she
declined
to
name.
The
contract
also
called
for
the
firm
to
produce
two
radio
and
two
television
public
service
announcements
in
both
English
and
Spanish
to
promote
the
World
AIDS
Day
events
in
the
weeks
leading
up
to
the
Dec.
1
events.
It
directed
the
firm
to
assist
in
placing
the
public
service
announcements
on
the
air
at
radio
and
television
stations.
In
addition,
it
called
on
the
company,
which
specializes
in
video
and
Web
site
production,
to
produce
“professionally
edited”
videotapes
...
