DC BUSINESSES JOIN TO FORM STREET PATROL NEAR MCI CENTER

          In Washington, DC, private security patrols and street-
     cleaning crews "will be assigned to a 120-block section" of
     downtown as part of an effort by DC business leaders to
     "revitalize the city's commercial heart," according to
     Stephen Fehr of the WASHINGTON POST.  Private property
     owners will tax themselves to finance and run the five-year,
     $38.5M operation, "which will provide services the District
     can't afford."  The MCI Center is part of the area targeted
     for improvements and Abe Pollin's Washington Sports &
     Entertainment is a district supporter.  The "security
     patrols and cleaning teams are supposed to be in place" by
     the MCI Center's December 2 opening and most of the owners
     of the 792 properties within the area "have agreed to tax
     themselves a penny a month per square foot beginning with
     September tax bills.  A typical office building downtown
     would pay nearly $30,000 a year under the plan."  Although
     Pollin's MCI Center is tax-exempt, he has pledged $100,000 a
     year to the improvement district (WASHINGTON POST, 7/27).