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Saturday, March 20, 2010
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February 02, 2009 - Students at Georgetown University are asking their school to cancel it's contract with U.S.-based Russell Athletics. The company, which makes clothing with the logo of Georgetown and hundreds of other universities, is accused of unfair labor practices.
Norma Estela Castellanos used to operate sewing machines in Honduras where she made clothes for universities in the U.S., including Georgetown University. She says Russell Athletic piled on work and didn't pay for overtime. After she tried to organize workers, she received death threats and was fired.
To investigate these claims, Georgetown and other schools contracted the Workers Rights Consortium. Executive Director Scott Nova says his organization was able to confirm many of the workers' claims. Russell Athletics didn't respond to requests for comment, and a spokesperson for Georgetown has said it's in ongoing conversations with the company in search of a solution.
Sabri Ben-Achour reports...
February 02, 2009 - Maryland and D.C. will soon have to join a national computer system that warns car buyers if a vehicle was stolen or previously damaged. Until now, many state titling agencies didn't have access to data from other states. That made it easier to transfer vehicles to another state and sell them under titles that looked clean.
Officials with the U.S. Department of Justice say the new computer system is a big advance. It brings together information from various state titling agencies, as well as automobile recyclers, junk and salvage yards, and insurance carriers.
Virginia is one of 13 states fully participating in the system. The deadline for all states to join is January 1, 2010.
Rebecca Blatt reports...
February 02, 2009 - In Fairfax County, non-profit housing groups say unpredictable giving and an overwhelming demand for services is hampering their ability to prop up working class families who need some extra help paying the bills.
David Klatt reports...
February 02, 2009 - Elizabeth Miller is a member of a committee that just finished an 18-month study on public health in Arlington County. As a public health professional and an Arlington resident, she says it was hard to believe the study's findings.
The study, known as Mobilizing for Action through Planning and Partnerships or MAPP, found that from 2002 to 2007 there was a 19 percent increase in cases of Chlamydia and a more than 200 percent increase in cases of syphilis. The study also found that more than half of Arlington twelfth graders are sexually active, but only two-thirds reported using condoms.
Sexual education in Arlington Public Schools should be expanded to combat this trend, according to the study. The Virginia Department of Health is requiring all jurisdictions in the Commonwealth to conduct their own MAPP study. Arlington is the first area to have completed its study.
David Schultz reports...
February 02, 2009 - An outbreak of the flu can be potentially life-threatening and can cost businesses millions of dollars in employee absenteeism. Yet according to a recent study, known as Mobilizing for Action through Partnerships and Planning or MAPP, almost half of Arlington residents don't receive flu vaccinations.
David Schultz reports...
February 02, 2009 - This year, Arlington Public Schools started a new program that gives students at the Career Center access to internships and college credit.
Virginia Governor Tim Kaine says vocational education has a perception problem.
The new program at the Career Center was funded by the National Governor's Association.
David Schultz reports...
February 02, 2009 - A group of local students are getting hands-on experience while earning credits for college.
David Schultz went to the Career Center in Arlington to find out more...
February 02, 2009 - January 26th marked the beginning of the Lunar New Year. Members of Washington's Asian community came together to celebrate.
But as Jessica Forres reports, Asian immigrants living in the region still face many challenges.
February 02, 2009 - (Feb 2-May 2) SCULPTURE EXTRAORDINAIRE An exhibit of sculpture fills the ten-story glass atrium at Washington Square, opening today at Connecticut Avenue and L Street NW and available for viewing daily from 7am to 7pm through May 2nd. A reception next Thursday night at 6:30 welcomes audiences to mingle with the artists of the Washington Sculptors Group.
(Feb 3) THE DAY THE MUSIC DIED Buddy Holly's life and music are celebrated tomorrow on the 50th anniversary of his death with The Day the Music Died, a lecture and performance by J.P. McDermott and Western Bop at the Smithsonian's Museum of Natural History at 6:45pm. McDermott, a local rockabilly musician and devoted Holly fan, combines music and memories during this half-century remembrance.
(Feb 3-Mar 8) THE HEAVENS HUNG IN BLACK The historic Ford's Theatre reopens at a historic time. With the bicentennial of President Lincoln's birth approaching, the new play The Heavens Are Hung In Black opens tomorrow and runs through March 8th. Highlighting the five months between the death of Lincoln's son Willie and the Emancipation Proclamation, the play offers a glimpse into the personal and political challenges facing the president in 1862.
Joel D'Orazio: Herman Miller Dread Chair (1002), Black cable on metal chair, 2006.
courtesy of: Joel D'Orazio
February 02, 2009 - More than a year ago, "Blob's Park" in Maryland was closed after more than 70 years of delighting generations of patrons. It fell victim to the development boom in Anne Arundel County.
But as Tara Boyle reports, the place where beer, bratwurst and polka dancing were celebrated has been given a reprieve...
Patrons take to the floor for the "Chicken Dance"
courtesy of: Tara Boyle
Traditional German beer steins provide authentic ambiance
courtesy of: Tara Boyle
February 02, 2009 - The Senate debates the proposed economic stimulus package and votes on Attorney General nominee Eric Holder. The Finance Committee reviews the tax records of former Majority Leader and nominee Tom Daschle, President Obama's pick for Secretary of Health and Human Services. Meanwhile, Secretary of State Hillary Clinton has her ceremonial swearing-in at the State Department.
Todd Zwillich reports...
February 02, 2009 - Bids on Maryland's five slot machine licenses are due today, and state officials say financial conditions could have a big impact on what developers propose.
Licensees will have to pay $3 million for every 500 machines. That could generate $90 million for the state's 2010 budget. By 2012, Maryland could receive more than $600 million in revenue from the five slots sites.
But it's unclear what kind of bids the state will actually receive. Developers may not bid on all five sites, and they may not bid on all possible machines at those sites.
Senate President Thomas V. Mike Miller, a strong supporter of slots, says the current economy is the worst possible time for someone to finance a project.
State officials plan to announce some details of the bids this afternoon.
Rebecca Blatt reports...
February 02, 2009 - Virginia is one of two states in the country reporting widespread flu activity so far this season. There have been flu outbreaks or influenza-like-illnesses in at least half of the Commonwealth, according to the latest weekly influenza surveillance report from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. New Jersey was the only other state with such widespread activity. Maryland and D.C. reported significantly less.
A CDC epidemioligist tells the Washington Post that he expects to see the flu spread rapidly in the next two weeks.
Rebecca Blatt reports...
February 02, 2009 - Women's rights activist Flora M. Trimmer Crater of Falls Church, Virginia, has died at the age of 94.
Crater founded Virginia's first chapter of the National Organization for Women, and she led a group called Crater's Raiders, which lobbied Congress to pass the Equal Rights Amendment in 1972. In 1973, she ran unsuccessfully for lieutenant governor in 1973 and the Democratic nomination for U.S. Senate in 1978.
Crater was unable to persuade the Virginia General Assembly to ratify the E.R.A. But in 1997, the Assembly passed a resolution honoring her for a lifetime of work empowering women and minorities.
Crater died Sunday at her daughter's home in Delaware.
Rebecca Blatt reports...
February 02, 2009 - In Maryland, the Montgomery County Council is reviewing a report that says new development is damaging a major waterway in Clarksburg. The report highlights the plight of Ten Mile Creek, calling its fragility "undeniable" because of continuing development in Clarksburg. The delay in releasing the report concerned several council members and County Executive Isiah Leggett. Sediment has been growing in the creek rapidly because of new development in the rural community according to the report.
Matt Bush reports....
February 02, 2009 - Catholic University officials say 36 students have fallen ill in a norovirus outbreak. A university spokesman says the first case was reported Jan. 21st. The virus creates gastrointestinal symptoms, including vomiting and diarrhea.
The D.C. health department confirmed that the students, who live on campus, became ill from the norovirus. The university says it sanitized several buildings and is stressing proper hygiene. Officials say the school believes the outbreak is over because it's been more than 72 hours since the last case was reported.
In 2006, norovirus sickened dozens of students at Catholic University. More than 200 students at Georgetown also contracted the virus last October.
Stephanie Kaye has more...
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