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Friday, November 20, 2009
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December 10, 2008 - Losing the presidential election has not dimmed the hopes of some local Republican activists.
Brian McCabe reports...
December 10, 2008 - (Dec 10-Jan 18) CAROLINE, OR CHANGE Caroline, or Change brings Louisiana of 1963 to the boards in Baltimore at CenterStage theater, opening tonight and running through January 18th. In this award-winning musical, Caroline takes on race, faith, money and latkes as the promises of the Civil Rights Movement reach deep into the overheated basement where she works as a washer woman.
(Dec 12) UNLIMITED EDITION Unlimited Edition, a juried show of visual art arrives at the Arlington Arts Center on Friday, with an opening reception from 6pm to 9pm, exploring modern-day issues of mass production, marketing and consumerism through the eyes of the artists.
(Dec 11-12, 20-21) JAZZY HIP HOP NUTCRACKER Putting a snappy spin on a holiday classic, the Jazzy Hip Hop Nutcracker features professional dancers re-creating this familiar tale at D.C.'s Momentum Dance Theatre in Northeast. From ballet to jazz, hip hop to Latin, the Jazzy Hip Hop Nutcracker is an original dance production featuring music by the Duke Ellington School, replete with break-dancing, popping, locking and fantastic acrobatics.
(Dec 11) BUMPKIN PIE Tomorrow is the Second Thursdays Art Fest in Alexandria, and the city's Athenaeum arts center brings the musical duo BumpKin Pie to the stage at 7pm. Suzanne Ives and Michael Dunkley perform their original brand of regional country folk music.
December 10, 2008 - Foreclosures continue to ravage the Washington region. Two former officials at the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development say some of the blame for the sub-prime mortgage mess is due to lax enforcement of fair housing laws.
One week after the assassination of Martin Luther King Jr., Congress passed the Civil Rights Act of 1968. It outlawed discrimination in renting, housing and lending. Forty years later, two former HUD secretaries say housing discrimination is still pervasive and is one reason why so many people are falling behind on their mortgages.
Henry Cisneros, along with Jack Kemp, released a 6-month investigation into the state of fair housing. Cisneros says the system is broken and points to a startling statistic: of the estimated 4,000,000 housing violations committed last year, HUD only prosecuted 31 cases. Cisneros and Kemp are calling for the creation of an independent agency that is separate from HUD to enforce housing violations.
Patrick Madden reports...
December 10, 2008 - The Virginia State Crime Commission put off a decision on whether to recommend closing the so-called gun-show loophole.
Anne Marie Morgan reports from R....
December 10, 2008 - A proposed auto industry bailout moves forward. Meanwhile, Maryland Congressman Chris Van Hollen takes on new responsibilities in the U.S. House of Representatives.
Todd Zwillich reports...
December 10, 2008 - The State Board of Education in D.C. is considering new regulations to help reduce truancy in all city schools. But at a hearing last night, some charter school advocates say those rules shouldn't apply to them.
The rules call for a consistent approach to dealing with truancy. At the first unexcused absence, someone at the school will have to call the child's parent. After five such absences, a team -- that includes a teacher, an administrator and social a worker -- should be put in place to intervene. After further absences, Child and Family Services and the courts should get involved.
Robert Cane is executive director with Friends of Choice in Urban Schools, or FOCUS. He says these regulations don't take into account the autonomy of public charter schools.
But Board member Mary Lord sees it differently. She says the regulations are sort of like an early warning system and should apply to all schools.
Charter schools have a truancy rate almost identical to the DCPS rate of 19 percent.
Kavitha Cardoza reports...
December 10, 2008 - Thirteen counties in Virginia have been designated by the federal government this week as primary natural disaster areas due to crop losses caused by drought. It's the second round of disaster designations for Virginia this fall. In October, the U.S. Department of Agriculture declared 11 counties as primary natural disaster areas due to drought conditions and excessive heat experienced earlier this year. Now farmers in those counties and those in the 13 designated this week, who have lost income from crop loss are eligible to apply for federal aid including low-interest loans. None of the primary counties is in Northern Virginia, but farmers in more than 30 additional counties, including Spotsylvania and Stafford, that have borders contiguous with the natural disaster areas are also eligible to apply for aid.
Matt McCleskey reports....
December 10, 2008 - The Maryland chapter of the American Civil Liberties Union is investigating local immigration enforcement policies across the state for possible civil rights violations. The organization cited Frederick County's enrollment in a program enabling local police officers and deputies to enforce federal immigration laws.
Meymo Lyons reports...
December 10, 2008 - Time is one thing that the inmates in Virginia's jails and prisons have in common. As Nancy King reports....two writers from Richmond are trying to help the convicts put some of that that time to better use by creating stories about their lives One of those writers brings his personal experience to the effort...
December 10, 2008 - Local governments are calling on President-elect Barack Obama to fund green jobs and carbon-reduction projects as part of his economic stimulus package.
Local leaders say they haven't been waiting for the federal government to take action on climate change. They hope the new administration will support their efforts.
Washington-area governments are among hundreds across the nation that are asking the Obama team for $10 billion in green building grants and an additional $18 billion for public transit.
Kathleen O'Neil has more...
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