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December 03, 2008 - (Dec 4-24) SANTALAND DIARIES The stories of the Santaland Diaries by David Sedaris drop sardonically on the stage at Warehouse Theatre in downtown D.C., opening tomorrow night and running through December 24th. These merrily subversive tales center on Sedaris and the time he worked as an elf at Macy's.
(Dec 4-6) THE TRUMPET OF THE SWAN The Kennedy Center presents the world premiere of The Trumpet of the Swan: A Novel Symphony at the Eisenhower Theater tomorrow through Saturday. Based on the book by E.B. White, the story of Louie, a young trumpeter swan born without a voice, is presented with a 35-piece orchestra.
(Dec 4) PHILLIPS AFTER FIVE A Japanese-inspired "Phillips after 5" includes the gallery talk [A Marriage Made in Art: Christo and Jeanne-Claude as Collaborators] along with the classical guitarist Soichi Muraji, at the Phillips Collection in D.C., tomorrow night at 6pm and 7pm. Muraji's exquisite touch on the guitar compliments the collection's current exhibit of the art of Christo and Jeanne-Claude.
(Dec 4) SUSTAINABLE ART DISCUSSION
You can join a reception and discussion on sustaining public art at the Rosslyn Spectrum Theatre in Arlington, tomorrow at 7pm. Director of Design for the National Endowment for the Arts, Maurice Cox, and Professor of Architecture from the University of Virginia, William Morrish, present [In Sight, In Mind: The Art of Sustainable Public Works](
December 03, 2008 - A little more than a month after Metro announced it would begin random searches of commuters bags, activists will face off with the transit agency to voice their concerns over privacy.
David Klatt reports...
December 03, 2008 - A former private school teacher from D.C. has been indicted by a federal grand jury on child pornography charges.
Eric Toth was charged in U.S. District Court of Maryland with producing child pornography in Maryland and elsewhere. The 26-year old taught third grade at Beauvoir Elementary on the grounds of the Washigton National Cathedral. Another teacher found a sexually explicit image of at least one young boy on a school camera in Toth's possession in June.
Toth was escorted off campus, and disappeared. Authorities found his car at the Minneapolis-St. Paul International Airport in August with a note indicating he had committed suicide in a nearby lake. No body was found and officials say Toth is considered a fugitive.
Bill Redlin reports...
December 03, 2008 - Texting while driving may soon be illegal in Virginia.
Anne Marie Morgan reports from Richmond...
December 03, 2008 - The cost of electric and hybrid cars remains well above their gasoline only counterparts, but representatives of the auto industry are spending the week in Washington trying to change that.
The Electric Drive Transportation Association Conference and Exposition is underway at the Washington Convention Center. There has been a lot of buzz about the Chevy Volt, an electric car to debut in late 2010. Its creators say it will be able to run on electricity for the first 40 miles of any trip, making it ideal for commuters. The suggested retail price hasn't been announced, but it's expected to top $40,000 for the 4-door sedan. Tony Posawatz, the vehicle's line director, says no matter the price, it shouldn't scare average people off.
Matt Bush reports...
December 03, 2008 - One of the District's most troubled housing complexes is being torn down. For years, Temple Courts, a housing project located just blocks from the U.S. Capitol, failed routine federal housing inspections and was shut down by the city last year. D.C. Mayor Adrian Fenty swapped his trademark black fedora for a white construction helmet and grabbed the controls of the demolition crane. Fenty then swung the 1,000-pound wrecking ball into the building's hollow shell.
The city has ambitious plans for the property. It's working with developers to create a new neighborhood. The city has even picked out a name, Northwest One New Community, which when finished will include a school, a recreation center, a library, retail shops and 1,600 apartments.
D.C. Housing Authority Chief Michael Kelly says more than a third of the housing units will be marked for low-income residents, including the nearly 200 families moved out of Temple Courts last year. The price tag for the new community is estimated to be at least $700 million.
Patrick Madden reports...
December 03, 2008 - Lawmakers consider new bailout plans proposed by automakers. Meanwhile, a House committee reevaluates a Blue Cross Blue Shield health insurance plan used by thousands of government employees.
Todd Zwillich has more...
December 03, 2008 - The Environmental Protection Agency has rejected pleas from state governors and environmental groups, making it easier to dump mountaintop mining waste near rivers and streams.
The EPA says it has put new safeguards into place, to make the dumping easier on the environment. Governors and other lawmakers in Kentucky and Tennessee had urged EPA Administrator Stephen Johnson to block the rule. The measure would rewrite a regulation from 1983 that bars mining companies from dumping huge waste piles within 100 feet of temporary streams when it could diminish water quality and quantity. Under a provision of the Surface Mining Control and Reclamation Act, the EPA must concur in writing to any mining regulations that could affect air and water quality. The Bush administration needs the EPA's approval to make the rule final.
Stephanie Kaye reoprts...
December 03, 2008 - The Smithsonian's National Air and Space Museum is announcing a $6 million gift from Airbus Americas Inc., to help build the second phase of its annex in northern Virginia.
Officials say the gift from the European aircraft maker is the largest corporate gift to the Smithsonian Institution this year. In return, the museum will rename one of its theaters the Airbus IMAX Theater. Museum director Jack Dailey says the gift is especially generous considering the shape of the world economy. The second phase of construction at the museum's Udvar-Hazy Center in Virginia will be dedicated to aircraft and spacecraft restoration. Visitors will be able to look at the intricate preservation work that usually takes place behind the scenes.
Stephanie Kaye reports...
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