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March 13, 2009 - Virginia's unemployment rate hit 6.4 percent in January -- the highest rate since June 1992. The Virginia Employment Commission said Friday that the Danville area recorded the state's highest unemployment: 14 percent. The lowest was recorded in Arlington County, at 3.7 percent. The seasonally unadjusted January rate was up from December's 5.1 percent mark.
The commission said job losses were recorded in all employment sectors. The January mark also reflected temporary furloughs. The U.S. jobless rate was 8.5 percent in January.
Meymo Lyons has more...
March 13, 2009 - In Bowie, Maryland, struggling homeowners and housing officials joined Congressman Steny Hoyer to pick apart a federal plan to help more local residents keep their homes. Homeowners in Prince George's County top the list of those, hardest-hit by the foreclosure crisis. They hold more than a third of the state's troubled mortgages.
David Klatt reports...
March 13, 2009 - The United States has 3068 counties. A lot of the bigger, wealthier, more urban of them have their own professional lobbyists in Washington. Hoke County, North Carolina is not one of them. Hoke is a county at a crossroads and in need of an economic rebirth. So the likes of, say, an economic recovery windfall, would be great. On Tuesday, all five Hoke County commissioners were in town to knock on their congressman's door.
Elizabeth Wynne Johnson of Capitol News Connection reports...
March 13, 2009 - It's been more than 15 years since "Don't Ask, Don't Tell" entered the national vocabulary -- and some civil rights advocates rallied in front of the Capitol today, urging President Obama and Congress to repeal the policy.
George Washington University student Todd Belok brings a fresh face to what has become an old debate. He's 18 years old and was kicked out of the Naval ROTC this past December for being gay.
He shared his story at the Freedom to Serve Rally in front of the Capitol Friday afternoon. For a young man who long dreamed of serving, the Don't Ask, Don't Tell policy leads to too many situations just like his -- a situation that he says contradict the values the military espouses.
Even those on the other side of the debate say the policy is flawed, but Elaine Donnelly, President of the Center for Military Readiness, says repealing the policy is dangerous, because a recent poll by the Military Times suggests that more than 20 percent of the volunteer force could leave the military if "Don't Ask Don't Tell" is changed.
President Obama made it a campaign promise to repeal "Don't Ask, Don't Tell." A bill repealing the policy was put forward in the House earlier this month. Donnelly says she's confident it will be defeated.
Jonathan Wilson has more on whether the fight over allowing gays in the military will be any different this time around...
March 13, 2009 -
Mamadou Diabate, master of the Kora, is performing tonight at the Museum of Natural History at 7:30. The Kora is a 21-string African Harp. Diabate's intricate strumming will quickly whisk you to his native Mali, where his family has been creating traditional music for seven centuries.
The 26th Annual Spring DC Antique Photo Show is flashing into town at the Rosslyn Holiday Inn, beginning Sunday at 10am. You can pick up a daguerreotype or a lantern slide or have your own antique photos appraised by experts at the longest running photo image show in the country.
The play, Benedictus, opens Saturday night at 8 at Theater J in Northwest D.C. Billed as a U.S.-Iranian-Israeli collaboration, the suspenseful play follows two estranged friends from Tehran, one Jewish and one Muslim, who are trying to prevent a nuclear war as the American ambassador pursues his own agenda.
You can hear an oral history of Zydeco at the Anacostia Community Museum in Southeast DC Sunday morning at 11. Zydeco is a folk music born of southwestern Louisiana's Creole community, whose special history draws from Spanish, African, French and Native American traditions. Live performances will illustrate the history of this unique music form.
March 13, 2009 - Many D.C. college students are worried that they won't be able to find a summer job.
Eilis O'Neill reports...
March 13, 2009 - As you drive down Arcola Avenue in Wheaton, Maryland, you can't miss the yellow signs protesting the plan to relocate the Montgomery County library.
Andrew Hiller reports...
March 13, 2009 - After months of worrying about the economy, one local non-profit is being forced to make hard choices. Bread for the City's Jeanine Sanford walks past walls adorned with awards they've won for services they provide the District's neediest. These include free groceries, a medical clinic and legal services. Sanford says a budget shortfall is forcing employee salary cuts of at least 10 percent.
E. Okobi visited Bread for the City's Northwest location to learn more...
March 13, 2009 - Over the past year in Virginia, shoplifting increased 57 percent in Arlington County and 20 percent in the City of Alexandria. In Montgomery County, Maryland, there was a 9-percent uptick.The crime of shoplifting is increasing across the nation.
As Michael Pope reports, local retailers are also experiencing a similar spike...
March 13, 2009 - D.C.'s 17th annual Environmental Film Festival got underway this week with nearly 140 films running in venues around town through March 22nd. David Furst speaks with Flo Stone, the founder and president of the Environmental Film Festival, and with filmmaker and Pulitzer Prize winning journalist, Hedrick Smith.
March 13, 2009 - With an economic stimulus budget and an omnibus spending bill passed, Congress considers what's next for spending and saving.
Todd Zwillich reports...
March 13, 2009 - Recent reports indicate that as more Americans find themselves on the unemployment line, they're spending more time in bars and social clubs.
But, as Sam Fulwood reports, many are also choosing to workout while they're out of work...
March 13, 2009 - Metro's board continues to look for ways to close a $29 million budget gap. But members have agreed on one thing: Maryland, D.C. and Virginia's Fairfax County will all contribute to the solution.
The board will give each jurisdiction three options: increase its contribution to Metro, reduce Metrobus service or use some combination of the two to close its share of the gap.
Maryland's share is the largest at about $16 million . Fairfax County's share is about $4 million dollars, and the District's is about $5 million.
There will be public hearings on the options next month.
Rebecca Blatt reports...
March 13, 2009 - A technology consultant and an employee of the District are facing corruption charges in a case that may have implications for the Obama Administration.
The charges were formalized as the FBI finished searching D.C.'s technology office yesterday. Yusuf Acar, a city employee, is being held without bond pending a hearing next week. Prosecutors say $70,000 in cash was found during a search of his home.
Sushil Bansal, a technology consultant, was released but was ordered not to engage in overseas financial transactions. He is due back in court on April 21st.
Until recently, the technology office was run by Vivek Kundra, Mr. Obama's new computer chief. White House spokesman Robert Gibbs says the administration was told about the raid ahead of time. The Washington Post reports that a White House official confirmed Kundra is now taking a leave of absence.
Rebecca Blatt reports...
March 13, 2009 - WAMU host Stephanie Kaye talks with Robert McCartney, The Washington Post's assistant managing editor for metropolitan news, about strategies for approaching the local budget woes and what's ahead for transportation improvements.
March 13, 2009 - Southeastern University, near D.C.'s southwest waterfront neighborhood, is in danger of losing its accreditation.
The private school mainly serves "commuter" students. It's facing financial instability, shrinking enrollment and a lack of academic rigor. University officials say they plan to appeal the revocation, which is posted on the school's website. Southeastern University's faculty has shrunk to just 10 members for more than 30 academic programs serving more than six hundred undergraduate and graduate students.
Stephanie Kaye has more...
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