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Saturday, July 4, 2009
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June 23, 2008 - The House takes up debate about the oil market, the Senate works on a housing and mortgage bill under controversy, an ethics investigation is expected to look at banking chairman Chris Dodd, and lawmakers negotiate international HIV and AIDS funding.
Todd Zwillich reports...
June 23, 2008 - D.C. Mayor Adrian Fenty has released a set of regulations to govern the use of the District's 5,200 cameras after advocacy groups complained that the surveillance network may violate privacy rights.
Rebecca Blatt has more...
June 23, 2008 - Riders who use wheelchairs should soon have access to taxicabs in Washington as the result of a new grant.
Rebecca Blatt has more...
June 23, 2008 - In Maryland, the Montgomery County Board of Education is going forward with a plan that could force more kids to walk to school.
Patrick Madden reports...
June 23, 2008 - The Montgomery County School Board is considering whether to give Superintendent Jerry Weast the emergency powers to raise the maximum walking distance for students in the coming school year. The school system's fuel costs have more than doubled in the past four years. Superintendent Jerry Weast says he is sending a "very strong signal" about the state of the school system's budget. Though school officials say they don't anticipate actually making students walk farther. The school board is expected to make a decision about the proposal tonight.
Abby Sykes reports...
June 23, 2008 - The General Assembly convenes in Richmond for the second time in two years to consider transportation funding.
Governor Tim Kaine wants about $1 billion in new funding, including about $600 million to maintain the state's roads and bridges. Kaine says it's needed because of spiraling upkeep costs for the state's aging highway system.
House Republicans oppose his statewide tax plan. They want to revive regional transportation authorities to collect taxes for road projects in Hampton Roads and northern Virginia, then call it quits. Unelected regional taxing boards set up by a 2007 law to impose taxes were struck down this year by the state Supreme Court.
Meymo Lyons reports...
June 23, 2008 - Officials in D.C. are investigating a riot that broke out in a jail near the Anacostia River.
Police say 20 officers responded to an incident involving at least 30 inmates shortly after midnight. It occurred in the inner perimeter of the jail and followed a fight between two inmates during dinner.
The inmates were said to be armed with sticks and hand-carved knives. The correctional emergency response team used pepper spray to suppress the riot. No major injuries were reported, and the jail is not under lock down.
The Central Detention Facility houses maximum and medium security inmates before they are transferred to the Federal Bureau of Prisons.
Rebecca Blatt reports...
June 23, 2008 - In Maryland, the Montgomery County School Board is feeling the pinch of high gas prices. Bus routes might change, leaving more students with longer walks to school. The Montgomery County school board made the fiscal year '09 budget based on gas prices of $2.75 a gallon. Now the school board pays almost $4.40 a gallon.
Faryl Ury reports...
June 23, 2008 - Small business owners in Maryland say they're struggling with increasing gas prices. A majority of small business owners use a vehicle for their work, and many say they're forced to scale back or, in some cases, shut their doors.
Sterling Crockett is president of a construction company in Rockville. He says he began working out of an extra bedroom in his house eight years ago. Today he employs 100 people. But he says rising prices have hurt his business considerably. Crockett says he has less money for new hires and equipment. He's also been hit with other costs such as a waste disposal fuel surcharge.
Crockett says for several years his business made a profit of about 10 percent. This year he's hoping it will be three percent.
Kavitha Cardoza reports....
June 23, 2008 - Pick a tomato in the blazing sun and plunge it straight into cold water. If that happened on the way to market, it might be contaminated. Too big of a temperature difference can make a tomato literally suck water inside the fruit through the scar where its stem used to be.
If salmonella happens to be lurking on the skin, that's one way it can penetrate. And, if the tomato isn't eaten right away, have time to multiply.
That doesn't mean people shouldn't wash their tomatoes. They should - just probably not in cold water. But as the FDA investigates the nation's outbreak of salmonella from tomatoes, the example shows the farm isn't the only place contamination can occur.
Meymo Lyons reports...
June 23, 2008 - (June 23rd) THAD WILSON JAZZ ORCHESTRA The Thad Wilson Jazz Orchestra performs at Bohemian Caverns every Monday night at 8. This well-known DC Jazz band has been described as uproarious and adventurous, with original compositions that sometimes encourage audience participation. They'll heat up your Monday night in the same venue that once showcased Miles Davis and Billie Holiday.
(June 23rd) JANE FRANKLIN DANCE at WOOLY MAMMOTH The Jane Franklin Dance company presents Take a Deep Breath at Wooly Mammoth theater tonight at 8:00. Recently named the Best Dance Company of DC by Washington City Paper, this locally-based troupe will perform pieces accompanied by string quartets, a barber shop quartet and poetry by Reuben Jackson.
(Ongoing through July 10th) FOUR SEASONS OF KYOTO Four Seasons of Kyoto showcases an array of 30 traditional kimonos at the Japanese Information and Culture Center, weekdays from 9 a.m. to 5p.m. These floor-length silken garments were made using a dying technique dating back to the 8th century and are on exhibit through July 10th.
(June 23rd) ROBIN BULLOCK Robin Bullock performs at the Kennedy Center's Millenium Stage tonight at 6:00. A virtuoso of the acoustic guitar, piano, cittern and mandolin, Bullock blends ancient Celtic music and the melodies of Appalachia.
June 23, 2008 - Thousands of kids in D.C. receive free or discounted lunches during the school year. Today, the Free Summer Meals program picks up where school cafeterias leave off.
Hundreds of recreation centers, churches, and schools will serve meals this summer.
David Klatt reports from the Children's Hut, a day-care center in Northwest Washington...
June 23, 2008 - The Northern Virginia Transportation Authority wants to make sure the General Assembly doesn't shut the door on the most recent version of Governor Tim Kaine's transportation proposal.
Faryl Ury reports...
June 23, 2008 - In Maryland today, members of Congress will be hearing from small business owners who are feeling the pain of high gas prices.
Today at a gas station in Takoma Park, Maryland Senator Ben Cardin and Congressman Chris Van Hollen will meet with owners of a construction company, as well as a farm and a company that provides software training classes. Although they're different types of businesses, Van Hollen says they're all hurt by skyrocketing oil prices.
Gene Kuleta reports...
June 23, 2008 - D.C. officials are bracing for a U.S. Supreme Court decision on the city's strict hand-gun ban.
The gun rights case D.C. vs. Heller is the first-ever comprehensive look at the Second Amendment right to bear arms.
The case centers on city's handgun ban, which was passed in 1976 and is the nation's strictest gun-control law.
D.C. Mayor Adrian Fenty says his office is preparing for the high court to hand down a ruling.
Officials at a national gun organization say they expect the handgun ban to be struck down but are hopeful other gun regulations will survive.
Patrick Madden reports...
June 23, 2008 - As a special legislative session gets underway today in Virginia, the Lieutenant Governor and the Attorney General are collaborating to fix the state's transportation problems.
Tommie McNeil reports from Richmond...
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