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Saturday, November 7, 2009
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September 05, 2008 - The owner of a large, pro-immigrant billboard in Manassas is taking it down before a court hearing that could have forced the sign's removal. The 12-by-40-foot sign on Guadencio Fernandez's property was built more than a year ago in a residential area. Fernandez wanted to protest what he called "racist" policies that target illegal immigrants in Prince William County. Friends and supporters gathered Thursday night to help him remove the billboard.
Some have complained they were offended by the billboard's evocations of slavery and genocide. City officials in Manassas have cited Fernandez for failing to obtain a proper permit. They also accused him of allowing garbage, rodents and snakes to make the site an eyesore.
Meymo Lyons reports....
September 05, 2008 - (Sept 5-28) SINGULAR VISION Zenith Gallery presents Singular Vision opening tonight and running through September 28th. The show features outstanding artists inspired by their singular vision and manipulation of canvas, metal, tapestry and mixed-media.
(Sept 6) PIGTOWN FESTIVAL The Pigtown Festival takes place in the charming city of the same nickname, Baltimore, off Washington Boulevard tomorrow from 11am to 4pm. You can check out what all the other festivals are squealing about, the only downtown "running of the pigs," with live entertainment ranging from reggae, southern rock and electro fusion. And the kids will be happy as pigs in mud during the performances of the Three Not So Little Pigs by Blue Sky Puppet Theatre at 12:30 and 2:30.
(Sept 6 & 13) BABY LOVES DISCO Parents and kids can bond at the disco, during the Baby Loves Disco dance party at Ram's Head Live in Baltimore tomorrow, and at D.C.'s Rock & Roll Hotel next Saturday. Host moms bring the partying set - ages 6 months to 7 years - out for an afternoon on the town. A full spread of healthy snacks and juice boxes, stroller parking and changing stations ensure all dancers are clean and well-fed, with danceable disco tunes from the 70s and 80s spun by real DJs and a little bubble machine magic.
September 05, 2008 - The Chesapeake Bay Commission is hosting a summit on biofuels in Pennsylvania. It will focus on finding new ways to curtail pollution in the Chesapeake and other waterways.
Tommie McNeil reports...
September 05, 2008 - The first wave of baby boomers will turn 65 during the next few years, and these new "senior citizens" are re-defining what retirement means. Some are creating villages, organizations where members help each other with needs ranging from changing light bulbs and weeding gardens to installing bathroom handrails and providing rides to a doctor's appointments.
These service hamlets are enabling many older residents to remain in their own houses -- creating lifestyle options other than nursing homes and assisted living centers.
Kavitha Cardoza takes a look at this developing trend...
September 05, 2008 - In Maryland, new cases of HIV and syphilis are surging in Prince Georges County. Health officials there are hoping a provocative new advertising campaign will raise some eyebrows and hopefully some awareness as well. The new bus ads are stark and devastatingly simple. Two words... One question... Got Syphilis? Got HIV? Dr. Donald Shell is the countys health officer and the campaigns architect. Maryland is the 19th most populous state in the country but it has the third largest number of AIDS cases and ranks fifth in new syphilis patients. Health officials in Prince Georges County say both diseases are on the rise among African-Americans and gay men. Shell says one reason behind the increase is message fatigue and he hopes the posters, which imitate the famous milk ads, grab young peoples attention. At a health clinic in Cheverly, Roxanne Hope prepares a patient for the stick in her finger shes about to administer an HIV blood test. Shes a counselor for the countys health department. Hope has seen the new ad campaign and says she has faith itll work. And health officials hope that talking will lead to increased testing.
Patrick Madden reports...
September 05, 2008 - The District is launching a new campaign to combat the city's high illiteracy rate. Fully 37% of D.C.'s residents are considered functionally illiterate. Sandra Johnson used to be one of them. She managed to slip through the cracks in school without learning to read, making it as far as 9th grade before she dropped out.
Sabri Ben-Achour reports...
September 05, 2008 - As many people across the country watched speeches from the Republican and Democratic National Conventions, many delegates found other opportunities in Denver and St. Paul.
Todd Zwillich explains...
September 05, 2008 - Republican delegates from the District of Columbia say John McCain's acceptance speech set the right tone for his campaign, one of integrity, strength and conservative themes. Melinda Wittstock has more from the Republican National Convention in St. Paul...
September 05, 2008 - The most recent in a string of violent home invasions in Maryland and the District has prompted police to warn residents -- especially elderly people -- to be particularly mindful of their safety.
From September of last year through May of this year, police investigated four home invasion robberies in Maryland's Montgomery County and D.C., each involving victims who ranged in age from their 70s to their 90s. Police discovered another victim yesterday who had died. The woman was found bound in her home in the 8900 block of Seven Locks Road in Bethesda. The exact cause of death will be determined by a medical examiner, but it appears that an unknown suspect had entered the house.
Police are urging residents to lock doors and windows -- and to report any suspicious persons, vehicles or activities. Police say older women living alone and senior couples should be particularly careful.
Rebecca Blatt reports...
September 05, 2008 - The Republican National Convention has wrapped up in St. Paul, Minnesota. We have this recap of the week that was ....
September 05, 2008 - Capitol Hill Village is one of a growing number of D.C. organizations, where members help each other with services ranging from gardening to paying bills to driving to medical appointments. This system helps elderly residents remain in their own homes, giving them an option other than long term care facilities. Kavitha Cardoza reports...
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