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Friday, March 19, 2010
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February 23, 2009 - Another season of NFL football is firmly in the books and the trash-talking has taken a backseat to other forms of weekend entertainment. But for die-hard fans, including commentator Reuben Jackson, there's little to smile about, at least for the next several months.
Reuben Jackson is a writer who lives in Washington, D.C.
February 23, 2009 - D.C. has a smaller gender wage gap than any of the 50 states. Nationally, women make 78 cents for every dollar earned by men. But in D.C., women make 96 percent of what men make.
Eilis O'Neill crunches the latest census statistics......
February 23, 2009 - Virginia's Arlington County gets most of its revenue from real estate taxes. So with the housing market crumbling, Arlington is now considering a $12 million reduction in spending -- its first reduction in more than a decade.
Republican activist Wayne Kubicki says the County has grown too accustomed to ever-increasing budgets.
"This is a wealthy community," he says. "It has come to expect a lot of services that a lot of communities wouldn't even dream of providing. This is still a billion dollar budget for a community of about 200,000 people. That ought to be enough money."
But County Manager Ron Carlee is resisting calls for widespread cuts.
"For some people, core service is nothing more than water, sewer, police and fire," he says. "At the same time, you can't have a world-class community if you only do water, sewer, police and fire. We've become the community that we are because we do a lot more than that."
Arlington's budget will be finalized in late April.
David Schultz reports...
February 23, 2009 - The lagging economy could be to blame for the spike in commercial robberies in Prince George's County, where they are up 67 percent since the beginning of the year. The police are addressing the problem through a number of strategies. One of those strategies is to teach business owners about crime prevention techniques.
Jessica Forres has more...
February 23, 2009 - While many banks across the country are being bailed out, Burke and Herbert Bank is having its best year ever.
The bank was founded in Old Town Alexandria in 1852. Last year, despite all the turmoil in the banking industry, Burke and Herbert posted record profits.
Gerald Hanweck, a George Mason University finance professor who studies the local economy, says the bank avoids risky investing during boom times.
"They're fairly conservative in terms of their investments," he says.
Hunt Burke is the president of the bank. He says when other banks were reaping windfall profits, Burke and Herbert stood by and watched.
"In recent years we've watched other banks fly past us, laughing all the way and making lots of money," Burke says. "And we wondered what was going to be the ultimate result of that. The ultimate result was that we've done very well and we're in a nice, conservative position and can be profitable."
The bank has branches throughout Northern Virginia.
David Schultz reports...
February 23, 2009 - You won't find Hunt Burke, the president of Northern Virginia-based Burke and Herbert Bank, traveling on a private jet any time soon.
"You can see that we're very low-key here," he says in the chairman's offices of the bank's Old Town Alexandria headquarters. "There are no fountains, there's no gold spigots in the bathrooms. There are no high salaries, there's no bonuses. We're proud of the fact that we don't get paid very much money."
Burke and Herbert Bank has been operating out of Old Town Alexandria since the pre-Civil War era. But 2008, what some are calling "the year of the bailout," was the bank's highest earning year ever.
Gerald Hanweck, a finance professor at George Mason University who studies the local economy, says Burke and Herbert is thriving because of cautious investing.
"They didn't delve a lot into real estate and they didn't go into a lot of riskier assets," he says.
Hunt Burke is the great-great-grandson of the bank's founder. He says Burke and Herbert's longevity kept it from making the mistakes of its peers.
"The temptation to be more aggressive and make more money was there," he says. "But the nice thing about having been here 156 years is that we've been through a number of peaks and valleys. And every 10 years it seems like everybody forgets what happened last time."
Burke and Herbert Bank has 20 branches throughout Northern Virginia.
David Schultz reports...
February 23, 2009 - (Feb 24) WHEN PRINCE CHARMING TURNS 60 What happens When Prince Charming Turns 60?. Round House Theatre explores that question with a play performed by the well-aged Heyday Players in Silver Spring tomorrow night at 7. The free performance is an adaptation of classic fairy tales with a "senior" twist.
(Feb 24) "AUDISSEY" TOURS Presidents' Day may have come and gone but you can still trace the paths of the nation's commanders-in-chief on a Civil War to Civil Rights audio tour provided by Cultural Tourism D.C.. The free Downtown Heritage Trail can be traversed any time by downloading directions onto a digital player. NPR narrator and guide Korva Coleman delivers the city's great stories in dramatic fashion.
(Feb 28) DOCENTS-IN-TRAINING The National Gallery of Art wants YOU...to become a docent. You will join other volunteers who lead thousands of visitors on tours of the priceless art and antiques. The gallery's extensive training sessions will make you one of the smartest people in the museum. You must apply for the program by Saturday.
February 23, 2009 - The District counts votes to get its vote counted. And Nebraska Senator Mike Johanns keeps a 121-year tradition alive, reading the first president's farewell address on the Senate floor.
Todd Zwillich reports...
February 23, 2009 - Last October, one in 10 Americans applied for food stamps. That's a record 31 million people. Anti-hunger advocates warn the updated numbers will be even worse.
As Patrick Madden reports, even the wealthiest areas are not immune...
February 23, 2009 - The Virginia Supreme Court will hear arguments this week from four residents who say people in wheelchairs are denied equal access to play the state lottery. The plaintiffs say only a fraction of lottery outlets in Virginia are accessible to people in wheelchairs. They say a survey conducted by the lottery in 1999 and 2000 found that more than 93 percent of lotto retailers had accessibility problems.
But the lottery argues it is not legally responsible for making sure all places that sell tickets are accessible. A Circuit Court judge in Richmond tossed out the suit in 2005. The Virginia Supreme Court will hear arguments tomorrow.
Rebecca Blatt reports...
February 23, 2009 - Two men, one from Montgomery County, the other from Miami are charged with running a nationwide prostitution ring that hired immigrant women. The federal indictment filed in Michigan alleges that Michael Porru of Boyds, Maryland, and Rafael Bernabe-Caballero of Miami, set up trysts through the Web site MiamiUltimate.com, and that they initially told the women they would work as escorts. .
Meymo Lyons reports...
February 23, 2009 - Local Chinese business leaders say, with the exception of the golden Friendship Arch on seventh and H streets and a half-dozen restaurants, DC's Chinatown could easily be any town. Now, they're asking Mayor Adrian Fenty for help change that. David Klatt reports...
February 23, 2009 - Local Chinese business leaders say, with the exception of the golden Friendship Arch on seventh and H streets and a half-dozen restaurants, DC's Chinatown could easily be any town. Now, they're asking Mayor Adrian Fenty for help change that.
David Klatt reports...
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