WAMU 88.5FM American University Radio

Sunday, March 21, 2010

WAMU 88.5 News

Your purchases from the NPR Store support WAMU 88.5

What's this?

"Art Beat" with Stephanie Kaye - Monday, January 5, 2009
Stephanie Kaye

January 05, 2009 -

(Wednesdays in Jan) BETTER THAN ROAD RAGE The class Creative Clay with Asian Art will be held for four weeks at the Capitol Hill Arts Workshop beginning Wednesday night at 6:30pm. Featuring the basics of hand-built clay, participants can make their own Japanese-style boxes, kimonos and hanging planters while learning the fundamentals of slab work, coils and stamping on clay. Other courses kicking off soon include making jewelry, painting portraits and knitting.

(Jan 8-Feb 27) THIRTY-TWO KILOS Thirty-Two Kilos by Ivonne Thein opens with a panel discussion at the Goethe Institut in D.C. Thursday at 6pm. Thein's fourteen large-format photos address the discomfiting subject of anorexia with alarmingly stick-like, alien young women in scant, silvery clothing; 32 kilos, or 70.4 pounds, was the weight of a famous French model who posed for ads condemning anorexia after nearly dying from it.

(Through May 25) DETOUR The show Detour: Architecture and Design along 18 National Tourist Routes is at the National Building Museum in D.C. through May 25th. The exhibit showcases the rest stops and observation platforms of Norway that, while often overlooked in the U.S., have become Scandinavian destinations in their own right, as architects and designers from all over the world have used shocking colors, graceful forms, and unusual materials to transform banal roadside places into astonishing landmarks.

Chesapeake Bay Foundation To Sue EPA

January 05, 2009 - The Chesapeake Bay Foundation is filing a lawsuit in federal court against the Environmental Protection Acency for failing to keep its commitment to Bay restoration. Will Baker heads up the Chesapeake Bay Foundation. He says after 25 years of broken promises and unfulfilled commitments the CBF is taking the EPA to court . Baker says the agency has failed to impose strong anti-pollution measures through the Clean Water Act, as required by federal law.... Meymo Lyons reports...

Chesapeake Bay Foundation Announces Lawsuit Against EPA

January 05, 2009 - A conservation group plans to file a lawsuit in Washington to force stronger federal action to clean up pollution in the Chesapeake Bay.Chesapeake Bay Foundation President William Baker says the Environmental Protection Agency has failed to impose strong anti-pollution measures through the Clean Water Act, as required by federal law.

Meymo Lyons reports...

Arena Stage takes Open Auditions

January 05, 2009 - Washington's Arena Stage took a cue from reality TV Saturday when it held open auditions to cast the role of Yolanda in it's production of the musical "Crowns".

Mana Rabiee reports...

Metro Tests Additional Trains For Inauguration

January 05, 2009 - Metro says it will test additional eight-car trains on certain lines this week as it gears up for Inauguration Day. On a typical day, there are usually six to eight trains running on Metros main subway lines. But starting today and ending tomorrow, the transit agency will be adding eight-car trains to its blue and orange lines during morning and afternoon rush hour.

The trains are longer than the normal six car trains and passengers may notice a little more room on their commute. The move will be an important test for the transit agency as it prepares to handle more than a million passengers during inauguration. The same process will occur Wednesday and Thursday on the red line, with additional trains running during peak time.

Patrick Madden reports...

D.C. Faring Better Than Neighbors During Economic Crisis

January 05, 2009 -

With its large federal workforce and relatively stable real estate market, D.C. has fared better than its neighbors during this tough economic downturn. This is a sharp reversal from decades past, when the District was often crippled by budget woes and mismanagement. That fact hasnt escaped the attention of a few long-time D.C. politicians.

A lot has changed since Jack Evans was first elected to the D.C. Council in 1991. Back then, the citys finances were in ruins and crime was so bad, the District was known as the murder capitol of the world. All of which made D.C. an easy target for politicians in neighboring jurisdictions. So as Jack Evans was sworn in last Friday for his sixth term on the council, he highlighted the reversal of fortune for surrounding localities. The District, of course, faces its share of budget problems but the forecast is better than some of the other local governments. Another veteran politician, D.C. Delegate Eleanor Holmes Norton, has also juxtaposed the citys financial health with its suburban neighbors.

Patrick Madden reports

Power Breakfast

January 05, 2009 - The final hours of the 110th congress will be devoted to the economic crisis. Todd Zwillich reports from Capitol Hill.

Suburbs Prepare for Inauguration

January 05, 2009 - Washington D.C. isn't the only city planning for the upcoming inauguration. The area's suburbs in Northern Virginia are also getting ready for the historic event.

David Schultz reports...

Inauguration Draws Campers

January 05, 2009 - Nearly all of the area's hotel rooms are booked for inaugural weekend so some people are deciding to rough it instead.

David Schultz reports...

Park Service Plans For Inaugural Trash

January 05, 2009 - With millions of people coming to the National Mall for the inauguration, some are wondering what's going to happen to all the trash they leave behind. On an average day, National Park Service employees collect between three and four tons of trash from the Mall. When special events occur... that number can swell to more than fifteen tons. Park Service spokesperson Bill Line says that even on the Fourth of July... all of the trash on the National Mall gets picked up by the next day. Line says that the Park Service will use this trash-collecting expertise in the aftermath of what may be one of the biggest events the Mall has ever seen. The National Park Service will be working on Pennsylvania Avenue for the inaugural parade as well as on the National Mall.

David Schultz reports...

President-Elect Obama to Host Neighborhood Ball in DC

January 05, 2009 - President-elect Barack Obama is adding a "Neighborhood Ball" in the District to his list of inaugural parties. To recognize the incoming first family's new neighborhood, Mr. Obama will host the first-ever "Neighborhood Inaugural Ball" at the Washington Convention Center. Some of the tickets to the event will be set aside for people who live in the District. It will also be linked to other neighborhood balls around the country via the Internet. In a statement released Monday, the President-elect said the inauguration should be for all Americans and said he doesn't want residents of the District or any other citizens to feel left out of the celebration. Officials say the tickets either will be free or available at an "affordable price," although there's no word yet on what exactly that will be, or where they'll be available.

Matt McCleskey has more...

Officials Ask For Help To Pay Funeral Costs

January 05, 2009 - Leaders in D.C. are asking for help to pay for the funerals of six people who died in a house fire New Year's Day. The office of D.C. Council member Harry Thomas Jr. says the Ward 5 Business Council has created a fund to help cover funeral expenses. Tawana Gantt, Keith Nelson and their young daughter, Kaniya Gantt, were killed in the fire in northeast Washington along with 10-year-old Joseph Wilson and 72-year-old Charles Smith. Another boy, Oscar Wilson III, died the next day from his injuries. Thomas' office says Tawana Gantt worked for the council member as an intern. The Ward 5 Business council is accepting donations for the fund. No funeral date has been set. Checks should be made out to the Tawana Gantt Fund and sent to the Ward 5 Business Council at P.O. Box 90918, Washington, D.C. 20090.

Sabri Ben-achour reports...