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October 28, 2008 - With unprecedented numbers of newly registered voters, it's more important than ever for voters in Maryland to cast ballots in the precinct where they live on Election Day. That's because a 2006 court ruling means their votes probably can't be counted if they are entered elsewhere. In the past, if a voter went to the wrong polling place, elections officials counted as much of the ballot as possible. Maryland's Elections Administrator says the state could see a large increase in the number of provisional ballots if voters don't make sure they are at the right precinct.
Meymo Lyons explains...
October 28, 2008 - Latino voters could determine the election in Maryland, where state officials have taken steps to stop the language barrier from keeping voters away from the polls. Gustavo Torres is the executive director of Casa De Maryland. The immigrant services group, which predominantly helps Latinos, has spent much of the past few months registering voters and educating them on what to do when they go to the polls. Torres predicts voter turnout among Latinos will be high despite the fact the issue he feels the are connected to most, immigration reform, has not been discussed much in the presidential election.
Matt Bush reports....
October 28, 2008 - With the nation focused on the presidential election, many other politicial races have received much less attention.
One of them is Virginia's U-S Senate campaign.
Anne Marie Morgan asked the Democratic and Republican candidates about their experience ...
October 28, 2008 - Educators say a new DCPS program that debuted in August is already helping at risk students do better academically. Kavitha Cardoza reports...
October 28, 2008 - Residents in Northern Virginia got their final chance to hear from state officials regarding plans to add lanes to Interstate 66 between Washington and the beltway. The so-called spot improvement projects won't technically represent a widening of westbound I-66 because Virginia's Department of Transportation would use existing right of way to add lanes. In other words, it's land that VDOT already owns.
But VDOT program manager Bud Siegel understands that the distinction, while important, may not represent the biggest point of contention.
An overwhelming majority of the 150 or so residents that came to the public hearing were there to voice opposition for some of those very reasons. Some showed up carrying posters with slogans like "WISER, NOT WIDER," or "THEY'RE NOT SPOTS, AND THEY'RE NOT IMPROVEMENTS." Many who challenged VDOT officials got applause from crowd.
Jonathan Wilson reports from Monday night's public hearing in Arlington...
October 28, 2008 - D.C. Delegate Eleanor Holmes Norton hosts a town hall meeting to address questions about the bailout and the economy, and Joshua Johnson takes a closer look at the presidential race in Florida.
October 28, 2008 - In January of 2006, the five-member National Transportation Safety Board urged the Federal Aviation Administration to take steps to improve the safety of emergency medical helicopter flights. Now aviation officials are not acting quickly enough on proposals to prevent crashes. In the past 11 months, nine emergency medical helicopters have crashed, killing 35 people.
Meymo Lyons reports...
October 28, 2008 - The head of the Capital Area Food Bank says the agency is in need of donations because demand for its services keeps rising. Lynn Brantley is the president and CEO of the food bank. She says the current economic situation has her worried when it comes to donations. Brantley says the faltering economy does more than just endanger donations. It also raises the number of people that need the food bank's services. The Food Bank is about $5 million short of its fundraising goal for the year with just two months to go.
Matt Bush reports...
October 28, 2008 - Lawmakers in Maryland and Virginia are getting most of their campaign dollars from outside of their districts. That's according to a new report put out by a non-partisan watch dog group. The research shows voters are losing out to special interests.
House majority leader Steny Hoyer of Maryland got 94 percent of his campaign dollars from outside his district, while Virginia Republican Tom Davis received 80 percent. The money has poured in from in and around the nation's capital, where many lobbyists and special interest groups have offices.
Sara Sciammacco has more...
October 28, 2008 - It's not easy to initiate new programs in the midst of a budget crisis, but a group of parents in Fairfax County says now is the time to institute later start times for high schoolers in their district.
Many people in Fairfax agrees that adjusting the district's start times has its merits, including the district's chief of operations, Dean Tistadt, who is often at odds with proponents of the plan.
The idea is that teens need more sleep, and letting them start at 8:30 or 9 instead of at 7:20, as they do now, would bolster academic performance and health, and reduce truancy. But agreeing on whether flipping the bell can be done properly at a manageable cost, especially during a budget crisis, isn't as easy.
Jonathan Wilson reports...
October 28, 2008 -
(Oct 29 & 30) SHEN WEI DANCE Shen Wei Dance Arts arrives at The Kennedy Center tomorrow and Thursday nights at 8pm. Fresh from its performance before an audience of a billion viewers during the opening ceremonies of the Summer Olympics in China, Shen Wei's two-day run brings the acclaimed work of his company and choreography to Washington, fusing dance, theater, painting, and sculpture, melding the styles of West and East as part of the Modern Masters dance series.
(Through Nov 24) BAD BALLET [Bad Ballet and Other Impossible Sculptures] by Skye Ferrante is on display at the [Workhouse Arts Center] in Lorton, Virginia through November 24th. This New York artist and former professional ballet dancer began sculpting as a child using found objects. Since then, his sculptures of bent wire have wriggled their way into the fun and flexible side of ballet, with clearly comedic, over-the-top positions and poses that would make any prima ballerina jealous.
(Oct 29) MUSICA AD RHENUM A free classical performance brings the group Musica ad Rhenum to the National Gallery of Art for a lunchtime performance tomorrow at 12:10pm. The West Building of the gallery will be filled with the seventeenth-century music of the recorder, cello, and harpsichord, presenting music related to the recently opened exhibit Jan Lievens: A Dutch Master Rediscovered http://www.nga.gov/exhibitions/lievensinfo.shtm.
October 28, 2008 - Even though the economy has become the number one issue for many voters in the presidential election, the War in Iraq continues to be a major concern for others. Lyndsay Ryan spoke to some young voters, many of whom will cast their first-ever ballots on November 4th...
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