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Saturday, November 7, 2009
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April 06, 2009 - For years, the Anacostia River was widely-known as the forgotten river -- lost in the shadow of the better known Potomac. Some people said the trash in the 8-mile river was so thick you could walk from one side to the other without getting wet.
Restoration efforts have helped improve conditions, but most observers say more needs to be done. Now D.C.'s City Council wants to impose a five cent tax on plastic and paper bags used in the District -- with most of the money earmarked for Anacostia clean up.
Kavitha Cardoza reports...
April 06, 2009 - A former employee is accusing a funeral home in Virginia of what he calls "disturbing and disrespectful" conditions. The funeral home helps handle the remains of veterans awaiting burial at Arlington National Cemetery.
Former embalmer Steven Napper told The Washington Post that he worked at National Funeral Home in Falls Church for nine months. Napper said he saw corpses left in an unrefrigerated garage, in hallways and on makeshift gurneys. He said he has since given photographs and notes to authorities.
National Funeral Home is part of Service Corporation International. That's the world's largest funeral services conglomerate. The company's president told the Post that it's looking into the allegations. He spoke of a commitment to treating human remains with what he called "the utmost dignity and respect at all times."
This is not the first time the company has been accused of wrongdoing. In 2003, Service Corporation International reached a $100 million settlement with hundreds of families over allegations involving two Florida cemeteries. The complaints included burying people in the wrong places.
Rebecca Blatt reports...
April 06, 2009 - The first blind man to scale Mount Everest has a new goal: to see through his tongue. David Klatt reports on Brain Port, a breakthrough technology funded through the National Eye Institute in Bethesda.
April 06, 2009 - Good fences may make good neighbors, as the old saying goes, but you've got to get neighbors to agree on the definition of "good" first.
Jonathan Wilson reports...
April 06, 2009 - The Deanwood Heritage Trail is the District's newest cultural attraction. E. Okobi went off the beaten path to visit the historic Northeast neighborhood where Marvin Gaye grew up...
April 06, 2009 - Republicans in Northern Virginia are reacting to the removal of their party's controversial former chairman.
As David Schultz reports, many of them aren't upset to see him go...
April 06, 2009 - Republicans in Virginia are hoping the controversy surrounding their party's former chairman won't hurt them in November.
David Schultz reports...
April 06, 2009 - A youth center in D.C. is using boxing to help at-risk children and teenagers.
David Schultz reports...
April 06, 2009 - In a few years, thousands of new commuters will inundate Bethesda when the National Naval Medical Center absorbs Walter Reed Army Medical Center.
As Jessica Forres reports, some homeowners don't think their neighborhood can handle the cars...
April 06, 2009 - Elizabeth Wynne Johnson has an unofficial survey of Congressional recess plans...
April 06, 2009 - (Apr 6) JAZZ, MEET POETRY Jazz and poetry meet at the Folger Shakespeare Library on Capitol Hill tonight at 7:30. The history-infused verse of Brown University Professor and poet Michael Harper is combined with the easy tempo of musician A.B. Spellman, the founder of the Black Arts Movement and former Deputy Director of the National Endowment for the Arts.
(Apr 6) OPERATION HOMECOMING Who better to tell the story of the armed forces than those who have served? A new series of writing workshops begins tonight at 7 at The Writer's Center in Bethesda. Active duty troops and veterans are invited to share their stories as part of Operation Homecoming: Writing the Wartime Experience.
(Apr 9 & 10) THE NEW D.C. PHILHARMONIC The new D.C. Philharmonic comes to life at the Music Center at Strathmore, Thursday and Friday nights. D.C.'s own fledling orchestra is led by Maestro John Baltimore, who was born and bred in Prince George's County. Featuring Mahler's "Resurrection," the concert is a perfect pick for the Easter season.
April 06, 2009 - Chinese Muslim detainees of the military prison at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba have asked the Supreme Court to order their release into the United States. The 17 men are members of an ethnic minority in Chian called Uighurs. They've been held at Guantanamo without charge for 7 years, even though the U.S. government doesn't consider them enemy combatants anymore, and isn't arguing they pose any threat to the U.S. at all.
But the prisoners can't be released back to China where they might be tortured for their support of an independence movement. Their lawyers say no other country wants to take them for fear of provoking China. A Federal judge ruled that the only option was to release the men into the D.C. area where a community of Uighurs had agreed to take them in. An Appeals Court said that judge went too far and that the detainees have no constitutional right to immediate freedom. The detained men have now asked the Supreme Court to hear their case.
Sabri Ben-Achour reports...
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