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Saturday, November 7, 2009
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April 07, 2009 - The so-called "Green" movement is generating more support nationwide as local communities and governments seek new ways to conserve energy and manage their resources. But as commentator Brooks Rainwater of the American Institute of Architects says, "going green" is a matter of choice.
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April 07, 2009 - One spot in D.C. that's "going green" is the House of Sweden in Georgetown. It houses the Swedish Embassy and its cultural center and is full of environmentally friendly ideas that are part of "Living Green," a series of exhibits and seminars being led by some of the world's best designers.
Stephanie Kaye speaks with Mats Widbom, the embassy's culture counselor, who admits that "living green" in D.C. can be a challenge...
April 07, 2009 - In Maryland, a panel of lawmakers is struggling to reconcile some of the major differences in budget legislation approved by the House and Senate. A joint House and Senate conference committee met for more than an hour to hammer out a budget reconciliation measure before adjourning. The major sticking points include how to cut aid to local governments and spending reductions in higher education.
Meymo Lyons reports...
April 07, 2009 - D.C. Schools Chancellor Michelle Rhee says the decline in enrollment at the city's public schools does not surprise her and tells only part of the story. Audited enrollment figures show there are 45,190 students attending D.C. public schools this academic year. That's an 8 percent decline from last year.
Rhee says she expected the drop as a result school closings and consolidations, and she anticipates that the numbers will level off this year. She notes that there are 800 more students enrolled now compared to the beginning of the current academic year.
As public school enrollment has decreased every year, the number of students attending charter schools in the District has increased. Charter schools now educate more than a third of the city's students.
Kavitha Cardoza reports...
April 07, 2009 - As D.C. Council members try to figure out why a city firetruck and ambulance were donated to the Dominican Republic, the agency responsible says the request first came through the Mayor's office.
David Gragan is the director of D.C.'s Office of Contracts and Procurement, which keeps track of how and where the District donates its used vehicles. Normally, something like an old fire engine is auctioned off. But last month, Gragan signed off on a rare exception for two especially large donations. A local non-profit, Peaceoholics, would be given both trucks. Peaceoholics then planned to reroute the donation to a beach town in the Dominican Republic. Those trucks were stopped in Miami and brought back to D.C. over the weekend. At yesterday's oversight hearing, Ward-3 Council member Mary Cheh questioned Gragan's judgement.
David Klatt reports...
April 07, 2009 - There's a proposal in Fairfax County, Va., to double the fees for people who play sports at the county's facilities. The current application fee is $5.50, but if the proposal passed it would rise to $13. There could also be increases for teams in tournaments and for a one time use of facilities. Those would more than double.
The money raised would be used for the development of synthetic turf and for maintenance of fields. A town hall meeting is set over the matter tonight at 7 at West Springfield High School in Springfield.
Pat Brogan reports...
April 07, 2009 - A six-foot-high chain-link fence has divided a Rockville neighborhood in more ways than one. Last night, city officials offered some solutions at what many hope will be the last in a series of community meetings on the topic. The only true consensus was that this meeting was more civil than some expected. But that may just speak to how contentious the issue has become. The fence was put up after some neighbors complained of their cul-de-sac becoming a hangout for smokers driven off campus by a tobacco-free policy enacted last year. But the fence also closed off a walkway, which had served as pedestrian access onto the west side of the campus for decades -- angering hundreds of other neighbors.
Last night city and school officials laid out a possible solution before about 80 testy residents. It calls for a rerouted walkway and a designated smoking area within the campus fence, on city rather than on college property. Security cameras and permit only parking in the neighborhood are also possibilities. The proposal will still need approval from Rockville's mayor and city council.
Jonathan Wilson was at the meeting and has this report...
April 07, 2009 - Defense Secretary Robert Gates outlines a sweeping array of weapons program cuts and says the Pentagon will move forward with plans for an aerial refueling tanker contract. He also announces a big change affecting jobs a bit closer to home.
Elizabeth Wynne Johnson reports...
April 07, 2009 - Prison officials in Maryland say inmates will continue to be offered the choice of kosher meals beyond the Passover period that begins on Wednesday.
In March, the Department of Public Safety and Correctional Services announced it would offer kosher meals during Passover to any inmates who are observant Jews. Now the agency says after Passover ends, it will continue offering kosher meals three times a day to any of the approximately 130 inmates registered as Jewish, House of Yahweh or Assembly of Yahweh. Two Jewish inmates sued the state prison agency, contending they were denied their right to religious freedom because the prisons didn't offer kosher meals.
Bill Redlin reports...
April 07, 2009 - (Apr 7-May 31) SEE WHAT I WANNA SEE See What I Wanna See, a musical take on lust, murder and redemption, opens tonight at Signature Theater in Shirlington. Directed by Helen Hayes Award winner Matthew Gardiner, the show was named one of the Best Musicals of 2005. Encompassing three distinct stories, audiences are transported from medieval Japan to present day in the Big Apple.
(Apr 7) KOSHLAND SCIENCE MUSEUM The Koshland Science Museum explores environmental issues at its downtown D.C. location with Picturing the Impact of Climate Change tonight from 6:30 to 8, as scientist and photographer join forces to show the changes in our world, with artful images alongside hard science.
(Apr 8) BASEBALL ART Baseball gets into the art game, as D.C. dedicates new sculptures at Nationals Park tomorrow morning at 11. The public art program inspired Omri Amrany,Walter Johnson and Frank Howard to create whimsical visions of America's favorite pastime.
(Apr 14) TEACHING ART Bringing art back into the classroom is the mission of a Teaching Art Institute at Roland Park Elementary in Baltimore next Tuesday from noon to 3p.m. Focusing on management strategies in an urban school setting, Maryland artists are invited to learn about working with at-risk youth in and through the arts.
April 07, 2009 - A study conducted by Washington University in St. Louis shows that tutoring can do a lot of good for students in urban schools.
Anthony Jaffee reports...
April 07, 2009 - A creek in southern Maryland has made a national conservancy group's list of the 10 most endangered rivers in the U.S. The Mattawoman Creek shoots off the Potomac River at Indian Head in Charles County.
Matt Bush reports....
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