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Sunday, November 8, 2009
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August 21, 2008 - Heâ's back. Senior Commentator Fred Fiske has once again donned his cape, sharpened his pencil and assumed the role of his alter ego, "The Language Curmudgeon." Broadcasters beware...
August 21, 2008 - As Democratic Presidential candidate Barack Obama tours Virginia, he still keeps secret -- for now -- whether a Virginian will be his running mate.
In the meantime, Obama sat down to talk with reporter Tommie McNeil...
August 21, 2008 - Speaking for Republican Presidential candidate John McCain, Lieutenant Governor Bill Bolling told reporters in a telephone conference call that once undecided voters hear and understand McCain's message, they will swing toward him.
McCain's supporters also point out that voters in Virginia will prefer the senator from Arizona because his policy positions are very similar to those of another elected official who has been popular in the Commonwealth for decades: retiring Republican US Senator John Warner.
August 21, 2008 - Amtrak says it needs more passenger cars to keep pace with booming demand.
Amid soaring gas prices, Amtrak ridership is up more than 10 percent over this time last year, and the passenger rail company's CEO says to meet the increasing demand, Amtrak should double the size of its fleet over the next decade. The company hasn't received new passenger cars since the mid '90s and is forced to continually renovate old ones. An Amtrak spokesperson says they simply won't have enough cars to meet demand, which is expected to keep growing 10 percent annually.
Erin Stamper reports...
August 21, 2008 - A former lieutenant governor of Maryland has a plum assignment at the upcoming Republican National Convention.
Michael Steele ran unsuccessfully for the U.S. Sente in 2006 and later became chairman of the organization that recruits Republicans to become candidates for state and local races. Steel is scheduled to speak on the second night of the convention, September 2. He is one of several featured speakers in an evening that has "reform" as its theme. Steele also addressed the GOP's 2004 convention.
Bill Redlin reports...
August 21, 2008 - The 2008 Checkpoint Strikeforce campaign to reduce drunken driving in Virginia is underway.
The safety office of the Department of Motor Vehicles says more than one-third of traffic fatalities in Virginia in 2007 involved alcohol. This year the campaign will use DUI checkpoints and an advertising blitz that's directed at young drivers. Drunken drivers on rural roads will be the focus in this seventh year for the initiative. The latest figures show the state had an increase in the number of alcohol-related deaths in 2006 from 2005, following declines for the previous three years.
Bill Redlin reports...
August 21, 2008 - In D.C., some middle school students will be paid to show up and do well in class. The plan is part of an experimental program being run with the help of Harvard University.
Kids will be "paid" based on five points - attendance and behavior, plus three other factors to be chosen by their schools. Fourteen middle schools will be picked by lottery to be a part of the so-called Capital Gains program, which has shown promise in New York, according to Harvard Professor Roland Fryer.
Chancellor Michelle Rhee says the program will help prepare kids for life by treating them like adults who have to earn a paychecks. Students can earn up to 50 points a week. At a dollar a point, the maximum paycheck will be one hundred dollars every two weeks. The pilot program will cost $2.7 million.
Stephanie Kaye reports...
August 21, 2008 - Virginia is looking for poll workers for the upcoming election day. The election is November 4, and officials say they still need more than 2,000 additional workers at the polls. They're expecting a bigger voter turnout this year than in the past, and there have been 300 new precincts added since 2004. Areas in Northern Virginia that need more workers include Alexandria, Fairfax and Loudon County. Those interested do have to apply and must be qualified to vote. The pay varies from place to place but averages about $100. More information is available from the State Board of Elections or from local registrars.
Matt McCleskey has more...
August 21, 2008 - Almost a quarter of D.C. is federally-protected park land. Most of it is maintained by the National Park Service and patrolled by the U.S. Park Police.
On Thursday, D.C. Delegate Eleanor Holmes Norton toured park land in all eight wards to gauge their condition.
Patrick Madden reports...
August 21, 2008 - Almost a quarter of D-C is federally-protected park land. Most of it`s maintained by the national park service and patrolled by the U-S park police. Today, D-C Delegate Eleanor Holmes Norton toured park land in all 8 wards to gauge their condition... Patrick Madden reports...
August 21, 2008 - (Aug 22-Sept 1) MARYLAND STATE FAIR The Maryland State Fair begins tomorrow with all the livestock exhibits, homemade crafts and garden-fresh produce you could ask for, in Timonium through September 1. Established in 1878, the fair has grown to cover more than 100 acres, surviving developers and maintaining the thriving horse breeding and racing tradition that's at the heart of this state-wide showcase.
(Aug 22 & 23) "LE BANTU AFRICAIN" SINGS AT TWINS Singer Armand Ntep takes Twins Jazz by storm at the club's U Street location tomorrow and Saturday nights, with sets at 9 and 11 p.m. "Le bantu Africain" sings and composes original world music, seasoned with salsa, hip-hop and the traditional tunes of "lihongo" from his native Cameroon. Ntep's unique world fusion sound reflects the many years he spent living abroad in Paris.
(Aug 23) DC POETRY FESTIVAL A community benefit for the historic Howard Theater brings a poetry and music party to the Carter Barron Amphitheatre Saturday night at 7:30 p.m. This annual show in Rock Creek Park features gifted singer/songwriter Ayanna Gregory, daughter of world famous activist, author and comedian Dick Gregory. She blends R&B, jazz, gospel and blues into her musical style, joining Def Poets Tommy Bottoms and "Breeze" to pay tribute to others who've graced the historic Howard Theatre stage.
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August 21, 2008 - U.S. Army divers based in Virginia have traveled across the country to help with an environmental clean up in Washington State. Fifteen divers from Fort Eustis near Yorktown made the trip. They're removing an artificial reef made out of old tires that's been in the Puget Sound for about 30 years. In the 1970's that seemed like a good way to help foster sea life, but it turns out toxins in the rubber leach into the water over time, causing a potential hazard to fish and to the people who eat them. State officials in Washington asked the Army for help, which is how the divers from Virginia got involved. They're bringing up about 500 tires from water that's 60 feet deep.
Matt McCleskey has more...
August 21, 2008 - Americans use billions of electronics products,and many have components that are labeled as hazardous waste. Lawmakers in Virginia are trying to plan ahead to promote e-cycling of these items so they're not tossed into landfills.
Anne Marie Morgan has more...
August 21, 2008 - Leaders in Maryland are working to make children more aware of the environment around them. Dozens of children gathered at the Arlington Echo Environmental Center to test for pollution and to catch fish and other critters to see what's living in the river.
Their visit coincided with Governor Martin O'Malley's appointment of members of Maryland's Partnership for Children in Nature, a coalition of state agencies, schools, non-profit organizations and others working to get kids more involved in outdoor activities. The governor and Maryland Congressman John Sarbanes visited with the children. Sarbanes says getting kids outside will help promote exercise and will also reinforce what they learn in the classroom about the environment.
Gene Kuleta talked with elementary school students on the banks on the Severn River, near Millersville in Anne Arundel County.
August 21, 2008 - Last year it was revealed that Comcast -- the country's second largest internet service provider -- was secretly blocking a certain type of internet traffic known as peer to peer file sharing. That's where multiple computers transmit files directly to one another. Shared files range from free videos to pirated music. It can take up a great deal of bandwidth, but it competes with paid services offered by Comcast.
In a sharply critical ruling, the FCC found that Comcast's interference with internet traffic was illegal and ordered it to stop. The original failure to disclose what it was doing is at the center of a class-action lawsuit against DC Comcast and its parent company.
Sabri Ben-Achour reports...
August 21, 2008 - The cameraman from the "Stop Snitching" video has been sentenced to 30 years in prison on drug and weapons charges. U.S. District Judge Catherine Blake sentenced 35-year-old Akiba Matthews in federal court in Baltimore. Matthews was convicted in May on heroin distribution and gun possession charges. Prosecutors say Matthews was a convicted felon when Baltimore police saw him selling heroin while armed with a .40-caliber handgun in November.
Matthews was the cameraman and appeared in portions of the "Stop Snitching" street video police say was used by drug dealers to intimidate witnesses and discourage people from reporting crimes.
Meymo Lyons reports...
August 21, 2008 - Fairfax County officials says a 19-year-old man from Lorton has been charged with making bottle explosives. Joshua Lavontae Gingrich faces seven counts of manufacture, transport, possession and use of a fire bomb or explosive materials or devices. Authorities arrested Gingrich after they say he set off seven bottle explosives at a shopping center in Springfield Monday night. No one was injured. Meymo Lyons has more...
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