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By Paul M. Weyrich
April 15, 2008
For the thousands of you who receive these commentaries known as NOTABLE NEWS NOW (NNN) we want to offer an explanation as to why their publication will be suspended for a few days.
During the Jimmy Carter Presidency, Congressman Ron Paul (R-TX) introduced us to a Houston builder by the name of Bob J. Perry. We soon found that our views and those of Perry were very agreeable. In due course, Perry purchased buildings on the Senate side of Capitol Hill for our use. These buildings were rehabbed by the late Clyde Hurst and company. Clyde’s good wife, Addah Jane, had been on the Board of Free Congress Foundation from the beginning.
After a remarkably short time, Perry donated those buildings to us. Later a major addition was made possible through the Estate of the late Elizabeth Lurie. Thus, in 1993 we were able to initiate the first news/talk conservative television network in the United States.
Along the line, a business contributor, having read our occasional commentaries, suggested that we produce them daily. The age of the Internet had begun and thus we launched what we named NOTABLE NEWS NOW. We had fewer than 100 households receiving NNN. Today thousands upon thousands receive NNN by email. NNN also is posted not only on our website, www.freecongress.org, but by seven or eight outside groups such as Newsmax.com, Townhall.com and so forth.
The reason for this history is that after 28 years in the same location, we are required to leave the City of Washington. A vast series of buildings across the street from the current Free Congress location is in varying degrees of completion, including the new home of the Securities and Exchange Commission. The corporate owner of both sides of 717 2nd Street, NE, obtained zoning from the District of Columbia Government to tear down our facility and build a large parking garage as an integral portion of the huge development. Some local folks fought the proposal but were unsuccessful.
The net result is that Free Congress must move. We were unable to find suitable headquarters on Capitol Hill. One of our Directors obtained a building for us in a very accessible neighborhood north of Old Town Alexandria, convenient to Reagan National Airport, 14th Street and Arlington Memorial Bridges and the Braddock Road Metro stop. We are in the process of relocating, the physical moving portion to be finalized on April 25. The new address is 1423 Powhatan Street, #2 [meaning Building 2, our building], Alexandria, Virginia 22314.
Another function we provide is through our sister organization, Coalitions for America. We have a Coalitions luncheon which connects conservative movement activists with conservatives in the Congress, White House and other Federal agencies. We have a Stanton luncheon, with the Center for Security Policy, which deals with defense and foreign policy. We have the Family Forum, which handles social issues. Our transportation lunch handles surface-transportation issues. A group dealing with fiscal responsibility recently has been launched.
While any move is somewhat disruptive, the process is going well. Inasmuch as we operate our own servers, we will depend upon the very capable Steve Tran, our computer engineer, to transfer the servers to the new location, after completion of which we will resume NNN circulation.
Each of us at Free Congress Foundation and Coalitions for America is profoundly grateful to all of those who have made our nearly three-decade stay on Capitol Hill possible.
The various meetings which have helped put us on the map will continue on 2nd Street, NE, less than two blocks from our Krieble Center, the Senate-side site for so many years. Indeed, the center piece of those meetings, the Wednesday Coalitions luncheon session, began meeting in 1975 on the House of Representatives side of the Hill. We are just as committed now as we were 33 years ago.
Paul M. Weyrich is Chairman and CEO of the Free Congress Foundation.
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