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Friday, March 19, 2010
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June 18, 2009 - An elementary school in the Trinidad neighborhood of Northeast D.C. is conducting an experiment that could have implications for ailing and failing schools across the country.
Dan Charles reports...
June 18, 2009 - When the Webb-Wheatley Elementary School in Northeast D.C. opened this year, many of its teachers were young and inexperienced.
As Dan Charles reports, they are part of an attempt to turn around a school where most students were failing...
June 18, 2009 - Turning around a failing school means raising test scores but also managing student behavior.
Dan Charles reports on the Webb-Wheatley Elementary School in Northeast D.C...
June 18, 2009 - This year, administrators and teachers have been trying to transform D.C.'s Webb-Wheatley Elementary School.
Dan Charles reports on whether the attempt is succeeding...
June 18, 2009 - The Environmental Protection Agency is holding a public hearing in Arlington, Va., today on strict new rules for mercury emissions from cement kilns. The U.S. cement industry says stiffer federal regulation of emissions from its kilns, will put some domestic plants out of business. Environmentalists say the EPA plan is overdue.
Meymo Lyons has more...
June 18, 2009 - Seven opponents of a measure in D.C. that would recognize same sex marriages are suing the city. The suit in D.C. Superior Court challenges the District's Board of Election and Ethics, which rejected an effort to hold a referendum on the bill. The board said that a referendum would authorize discrimination based on sexual orientation, which is prohibited under D.C.'s Human Rights Act.
Meymo Lyons reports...
June 18, 2009 - (June 20th) The Nine Lives of Marion Barry "The Nine Lives of Marion Barry" will close out the Silverdocs Documentary Film Festival Saturday evening at 6:30 in Silver Spring. The film offers a panoramic view of Marion Barry - the civil rights hero who took a bullet during a hostage crisis, the philandering drug user who served time in jail, the seemingly indestructible politician. The film makers use archival footage and tape from the 2004 campaign for city council to link Barry's story to the narrative of D.C.
(June 20th) Hooray for Bollywood! You can see a Rajasthani folk dance and visit a magical temple at "Hooray for Bollywood!" Saturday night at 8 at Harmony Hall Regional Center in Fort Washington, Md. In this Bollywood Dance Concert, the nationally acclaimed Silk Road Dance Company takes the stage with all the fanfare and glitz of modern Indian dance and cinema.
(June 18th) Orqueta La Romana The summer concert series "Sounds in the Square" is in full swing at D.C.'s Farragut Square Park every Thursday afternoon at 5:30. Today, it features the Salsa music of Orquesta La Romana.
(June 18th) Tiny Conspiracies You can listen in on the private conversations of Bacteria tonight at 6:30 at the Koshland Science Museum in D.C.'s Chinatown. In this lecture, Princeton Microbiologist Bonnie Bassler will explain how different bacteria communicate and team up to overpower the immune system.
June 18, 2009 - The District's former mayor and current council member Marion Barry is a D.C. institution. He was a hugely popular mayor in Washington, who was then caught in a federal sting smoking crack cocaine in a hotel room with a girlfriend. But after being released from prison, he was re-elected mayor with almost 60 percent of the vote. Local filmakers Dana Flor "Floor" and Toby Oppenheimer spoke to Kavitha Cardoza about their documentary "The Nine Lives of Marion Barry"....
June 18, 2009 - There's history underfoot at the D.C. Courthouse. Frederick Douglass had an office here, and so did Theodore Roosevelt. They say Abraham Lincoln signed the D.C. Emancipation Proclamation under this roof. But by the time Eric T. Washington got there in the 1980s, the roof was crumbling. Washington is now Chief Judge on the D.C. Court of Appeals. He's made it a priority to rehabilitate the historic courthouse. Now, after 10 years and $100 million in renovations, the courthouse is open for business again.
Jessica Gould reports...
June 18, 2009 - Members of the D.C. area's faith community are rallying on behalf of immigration reform in advance of a White House summit on the issue.
David Schultz reports...
June 18, 2009 - Technology has changed our lives in countless ways. But Commentator Fred Fiske says he is especially happy to have science on his side while driving.
The views expressed do not necessarily reflect the opinions of WAMU 88.5 or American University.
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June 18, 2009 - A battle over health-care reform looms in the Senate.
Sara Sciammacco has details...
June 18, 2009 - An office building in Southwest D.C. is getting a big green makeover, and that's attracting attention from some members of Congress. The building's owners say they hope it will be an example of what environmental technology can achieve. Office workers at the new Constitution Center at Sixth and E will be surrounded by natural lighting and have an acre of green space for lunch breaks. The building doesn’t use much water either. Designers cut the amount by 3 million gallons a year compared to the old building on the same site. The goal is to save money and energy. Missouri’s Russ Carnahan says Congress needs green buildings like this one to be part of a national energy policy.
The economic stimulus package has allocated billions of dollars to retrofit government buildings to make them more efficient. To attract potential clients, the Constitution Center also has blast-proof rooms, filtered air and super-secret security. It opens next year.
Peter Granitz has more...
June 18, 2009 - It's now easier to find information online about sex offenders in the District. D.C.'s online registry of sex offenders now includes an interactive map. It lets users plug in a specific address for a home, school or daycare and find out how many offenders live or work in the surrounding area. The map brings up a photograph of the registered offender, along with their name and information about the crime for which they were convicted. It does not provide a specific address for the offender, but gives the block where they live. Police say making the information easily available will help promote public safety when used responsibly, but they add that if it's used unlawfully to harass offenders, any injury or intimidation will be prosecuted.
Matt McCleskey has more...
June 18, 2009 - The D.C. United soccer team is asking fans for their input regarding the location of a new stadium. The Major League Soccer team has e-mailed a survey to fans and posted it on the team's web site. The survey asks the team's supporters to rank three options: lower Montgomery County, Loudoun County and the District of Columbia.
David Klatt reports...
June 18, 2009 - A 79-year-old man is dead after falling down during a confrontation outside his home with a Verizon technician. The Vienna man, whose name was not released, was unhappy with the installation of a new service. Vienna police say the Verizon employee left the home at about 5 p.m. yesterday. The elderly man followed him out and tried to block the technician's van from leaving the driveway.
Meymo Lyons has more...
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