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Tuesday, February 9, 2010
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February 11, 2009 - Lawmakers in Maryland are starting to push for a 25 percent reduction in greenhouse gas emissions statewide by 2020. Both branches of the General Assembly are considering the measure, which would force the state's Department of the Environment to adopt a final plan to achieve the reductions by 2012.
Matt Bush reports...
February 11, 2009 - Council members from wards with the highest lead levels between 2001 and 2004 heard from angry community members, who demanded that the city do a better job of protecting them. The hearing followed a recent study that found high lead levels may have irreversibly affected the health of thousands of children.
Sabri Ben-Achour Reports...
February 11, 2009 - A U.S. judge has overturned a federal rule that would have allowed rescue teams at small coal mines to train less than teams at larger operations. Judge Stephen Williams, U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia, also voided a rule allowing teams of state inspectors to substitute work for rescue training. Williams ruled that both violate federal legislation passed following a deadly methane explosion in West Virginia and two other high-profile fatal accidents in 2006. Williams ordered the U.S. Mine Safety and Health Administration to reconsider both rules.
Meymo Lyons reports....
February 11, 2009 - A murder trial now underway in Montgomery County has re-ignited the debate over how criminals are sentenced in Maryland. In 2000, the same defendant was sentenced to 12 years in prison after being found guilty of a string of violent robberies. He only served about half of his sentence, in part because a controversial court procedure called "reconsideration." It allows trial judges in Maryland to reduce criminal sentences long after the original judgment.
Patrick Madden reports...
February 11, 2009 - Board of Supervisors Chairman Corey Stewart stands next to a brass raffle bin - the kind you might see at a church fundraiser.
Stewart is choosing the names of county employees out of the bin for Prince William's Home Help program. The program gives the employees the chance to get a low-cost mortgage for a home in Prince William County.
Stewart says the purpose of the Home Help program is twofold.
"It will help to remove some of the homes from the market," he says. "We have a glut of homes on the market in Prince William County. But it will also, perhaps more importantly, allow our police, our firefighters, our teachers and other County employees to live here in Prince William County."
More than 300 employees applied for the program, but only half received the discounted mortgages. Employees in the program can save up to $4,500 on interest rates and closing costs.
David Schultz reports...
February 11, 2009 - The D.C. City Council will hold a round table today, titled "Repairing the Safety Net One Year After Jacks." Banita Jacks is the woman who is accused of killing her four young children.
The one-year anniversary of the case prompted this commentary from Judith Sandalow, the Executive Director of the Children's Law Center.
The views expressed do not necessarily reflect the opinions of WAMU 88.5 or American University.
What do you think?
Go to www.conversation.wamu.org and click on "Commentary Forum."
February 11, 2009 - The District is in the process of creating its first Public Art Master Plan. At a public meeting, artists, environmentalists and business owners all had a chance to share their suggestions.
George Charles Koch, an artist in D.C., says public art could include painting a cross walk, a sculpture in a plaza or a mural on the side of a building. Completed public art can attract tourists to a city but can also be, says Todd Bressy, a social network while it's being created.
Rachel Dickerson is with the D.C. Creates! Public Art program. She says having a plan will help focus their efforts. She says D.C. spends more than $2.5 million each year on the Arts, and they have about 2,000 pieces in their collection. Dickerson says even in a city that boasts the finest galleries and museums, art in local neighborhoods is important.
The plan is expected to be completed by June.
Kavitha Cardoza reports...
February 11, 2009 - (Feb 11-15) HIGHLAND FLING The Washington Ballet features Highland Fling opening tonight at the Kennedy Center and running through Sunday. Featuring the 1863 choreography of La Sylphide and Lila York's contemporary dance "Celts," the show is a tour of the British isles in ballet.
(Feb 12-Apr 18) BOOK ENDS BookEnds, an exhibit that focuses on the book as art, opens at two locations: Pyramid Atlantic in Silver Spring and the Torpedo Factory's Target Gallery in Alexandria, hosting a reception and gallery tour tomorrow from 6:00 to 8:00 with artists hailing from around the world.
Book Ends Dates:
Target Gallery through February 22 Reception: Second Thursday Art Night February 12, 6-8pm Juror Helen Frederick presents at 7pm
Pyramid Atlantic Art Center through April 18 reception Saturday, February 14
(Feb 12-15) THE DUCHESS OF MALFI Catholic University presents The Duchess of Malfi tomorrow through Sunday at its Hartke Theatre in Northeast D.C., where moonlit madness, desperate revenge and passionate love are the setting of this 17th-century story.
(Feb 12-17) LINCOLN FEST And The National Archives celebrates President Abraham Lincoln's Bicentennial with a viewing of the Emancipation Proclamation tomorrow through Monday in the East Rotunda Gallery.
February 11, 2009 - D.C. City Council members from wards with the highest lead levels between 2001 and 2004 heard from angry community members, who demanded that the city do a better job of protecting them. The hearing followed a recent study that found high lead levels may have irreversibly affected the health of thousands of children.
EPA representatives said the water was safe to drink for the general population, but certain groups might want to get their water tested or try bottled water. Those groups include the very young, those with compromised immune systems and those with lead service lines. The EPA oversees the District's Water and Sewer Authority. Both agencies said the District's water meets federal guidelines with which all U.S. jurisdictions must comply.
Sabri Ben-Achour Reports...
February 11, 2009 - Actor Ted Danson visits Capitol Hill to push for reinstating a moratorium on offshore drilling. Meanwhile, negotiators try to reconcile House and Senate stimulus packages.
Elizabeth Wynny Johnson reports...
February 11, 2009 - The same week Virginia's House of Delegates passed a bill to curb smoking in restaurants and bars, Virginia's Senate took up a measure involving smoking in cars. People in Virginia who smoke with a minor in the car would face a $100 fine under a bill passed by the Senate.
Lawmakers voted 30 to 10 in favor of the bill, which was sponsored by Senator Ralph Northam, a pediatric neurologist from Norfolk. Some supporters had voted against previous smoking bans for restaurants. They said they supported Northam's bill to protect children, because they don't have the power to choose whether to ride in cars with smokers.
Others, who opposed the measure, said the government should not tell parents how to raise their children.
Rebecca Blatt reports...
February 11, 2009 - Maryland Governor Martin O'Malley is set to appear on Capitol Hill this afternoon, to speak with his state's congressional delegation about the state's federal budget priorities.
The conversation is expected to focus on the bottom line: how much money Maryland will get from the final version of the economic stimulus bill.
A spokesman for O'Malley says the governor and his staff are reviewing the House and Senate versions of the bill to determine the impact it will make in Maryland.
Democratic Congressman Frank Kratovil is among those expected to attend the meeting. Kratovil was one of 11 Democrats who joined Republicans in voting against the House version of the bill.
Rebecca Blatt reports...
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