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Saturday, July 4, 2009
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July 07, 2008 - As the price of oil continues to climb, auto manufacturers are shifting production from gas guzzlers to fuel efficient vehicles and mass transit systems are experiencing a spike in ridership.
Local 689 of the Amalgamated Transit Union represents the thousands of workers who operate, maintain and supervise Metro buses and trains in the DC region. Commentator Jackie Jeter is president of the local...
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July 07, 2008 - Letters of termination will be mailed today to 250 teachers and 500 teacher's aides who did not meet a certification deadline.
D.C. Schools Chancellor Michelle Rhee says the educators failed to meet a June 30 deadline to gain credentials, which are required by federal law.
Teachers are required to have at least a bachelor's degree in the area they teach, and they must pass a proficiency test in their subject. Teacher's aides must have a high school diploma or associate's degree, and they too must pass an exam.
A spokeswoman for Rhee says the move is not expected to disrupt the coming school year because the educators were not expected to meet the deadline, thus they were not assigned to teach.
Meymo Lyons has more...
July 07, 2008 - (July 8-12) HIP-HOP FESTIVAL DC's Hip-Hop Theater Festival kicks off Tuesday and runs through Saturday at a variety of venues throughout the city. The free fest offers hip-hop based theater, dance and visual arts. Congresswoman Eleanor Holmes Norton will moderate a discussion on civic engagement, hip-hop arts and culture at Flashpoint Gallery's Theater Lab Thursday at noon.
(July 4-Aug 31) THE BLUES Photos by Dick Waterman grace Govinda Gallery at National Harbor through August 31st. Waterman's popular exhibit The Blues returns to DC after a 2003 visit to Georgetown, bringing back images of legends Son House, Mississippi John Hurt, Bobby Bland and Howlin' Wolf.
(July 10) RAKUGO A chance to experience the ancient Japanese tradition of comic storytelling arrives at the Japan Information & Culture Center Thursday Monday at 6:30 p.m. Called Rakugo, its practitioner, Kaishi Katsura, is part impressionist, part storyteller and all comedian. He brings along his own unique take on Japan`s oldest form of humor, a style developed 400 years ago, based on skill and imagination.
July 07, 2008 - On Friday evening, the fireworks had barely faded when work began for D.C. Department of Transportation employees during an emergency preparedness test plan.
In addition to four-minute-long green light intervals, employees used whistles to move the hundreds of cars along at the intersection of K street and Georgia Avenue. There were cameras set up as part of an study to collect car and foot traffic data - including volume, speed and travel times. Karyn LeBlanc, spokesperson for the Department, says this helps review procedures in case there is ever a mass evacuation of DC. The information collected will take three weeks to be analyzed. The bigger challenge might be to educate the public about how to behave in case of an actual emergency. Like residents who rushed into crowded Metro compartments despite repeated announcements there were other trains in a few minutes. And others, who ignored "don't walk" signals and decided to cross the busy Georgia Avenue anyway.
Kavitha Cardoza reports...
July 07, 2008 - Confusion over DC school construction contracts in the wake of the mayor's takeover of the school system forces the chairman of the DC Council to take action.
Vincent Gray has asked top District school officials to testify at a public round table this week to clarify what he calls misinformation over school improvement contracts presented to the council for approval in recent days.
Allen Lew is director of the Office of Public Education Facilities and Modernization. He was the only top school official who testified at a hearing last week about that very issue. Gray was visibly frustrated by Lew's lack of information and support by other top school officials and is now asking Schools Chancellor Michelle Rhee and Deputy Mayor for Education Victor Reinoso, along with Lew, to take the stand this week and clarify information about key education policies and facilities funding issues.
Gray says he offered July 8 or 11 as possible dates for the hearing. No word as to when or if the officials plan to testify.
Jessica Golloher reports...
July 07, 2008 - Senators return to unfinished business -- including housing and mortgage legislation as well as FISA legislation. They also return to the topic of Medicare payments for doctors, while some are expected to speak about a former North Carolina Senator Jesse Helms, who died Friday.
Todd Zwillich has details...
July 07, 2008 - Virginians will learn if there will be a transportation-funding stalemate or compromise when lawmakers return to Richmond Wednesday, but there's other business at the Capitol this week.
Anne Marie Morgan has a preview...
July 07, 2008 - Delegate Phillip Hamilton (R - Newport News) talks with WAMU's Bill Redlin about what's behind Virginia's legislative gridlock and what he thinks lies ahead in special legislative session on transportation...
July 07, 2008 - Virginia Senator Jim Webb has taken himself out of the running for Vice President.
Webb's name comes up over and over again as a potential running mate for Sen. Barack Obama, the presumptive Democratic nominee for president. Webb's experience as a combat veteran and former Secretary of the Navy were considered by many experts to be a good fit for Obama, who is relatively inexperienced on national security matters.
But Webb says that he intends to stay in the Senate and that he would not accept an invitation by Obama's campaign to be on the ticket.
Todd Zwillich reports from Capitol Hill...
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