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Saturday, December 19, 2009
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June 29, 2009 - An environmental group and four Maryland residents have filed a lawsuit against the Mirant Chalk Point power plant in Prince George's County. The lawsuit filed Friday in federal court accuses the power plant and its parent company, Mirant Mid-Atlantic LLC, of violating the Clean Air Act. The Chesapeake Climate Action Network and residents of Accokeek and Mechanicsville accuse the power plant operators of repeatedly burning residual fuel oil without the required pollution controls to reduce harmful emissions. Mirant did not immediately respond to a call requesting comment. The company has also faced criticism from environmentalists over its power plant in Alexandria, Va.
Meymo Lyons reports...
June 29, 2009 - While economic downturns can make things difficult for established businesses, they can sometimes open a creative space for entrepreneurs and new businesses.
Sabri Ben-Achour spoke with one young businessman who's hoping to hit it big with bug spray. Fifteen-year old Nyl Sweeney and his very entrepreneurial family developed "Reclaim" mosquito repellant as a summer business project for the Virginia teenager. The recession hasn't dissuaded them, it's inspired and motivated them.
Sabri Ben-Achour reports...
June 29, 2009 - (June 29th) Walking Secrets You can take a walking tour that exposes the secrets of D.C.'s Landmarks tonight at 6 on the National Mall. What do a bordello under a museum and the severed leg of a civil war general have to do with our national monuments? I don't know, because it's a secret. But you can find out tonight at 6, starting at the Smithsonian Metro Station.
(Through July 15th) Scenes of Childhood: Sixty Years of Postwar Japan Photos of the children of postwar Japan are on display at the Japanese Information and Culture Center in Northwest DC through July 15th. The exhibit features the work of 97 critically acclaimed photographers. It portrays childhood across six decades of Japanese history, starting with a country ravaged by war through Japan's rise a wealthy industrial power.
(Through July 19th) The Seagull on 16th Street The Seagull on 16th Street is at Theater J in Northwest DC through July 19th. While full of laughs, this adaptation of Chekhov's play "The Seagull" is a tale of spiritual yearning, loss, and the end of youth.
June 29, 2009 - After-school and summer programs in Maryland are finding it increasingly difficult to serve children who need it most because of the recession.
At a Boys and Girls Club in Silver Spring, children are dragging chairs around a television screen to watch a Disney movie. But the camp, like several others across the state, is seeing a drop in funding because of the economy.
To save money, Boys and Girls Clubs have consolidated camps and are choosing free field trips -- museums instead of water-parks. Jodi Grant, who heads the After-school Alliance, says this is part of a national trend. She says a recent survey found many programs forced to reduce services, increase fees or even close programs. Meanwhile, she says, more parents are leaving children unsupervised at home or putting older children in charge of younger ones becasue they can no longer afford care.
Kavitha Cardoza reports...
June 29, 2009 - Trains are running on both tracks of the Red Line today, but Metro says riders should still expect delays. Trains are restricted to a maximum speed of 35 miles per hour, which is slower than usual. And trains will move even more slowly between the Fort Totten and Rhode Island Avenue stations. That's because of the ongoing investigation into last Monday's collision. Metro suggests Red Line passengers add 30 minutes to their expected travel times.
Rebecca Blatt reports...
June 29, 2009 - Some members of the Caribbean community are urging the U.S. Census Bureau to add a Caribbean-American race category to the 2010 census.
Jessica Forres reports...
June 29, 2009 - Nearly 1,000 gas stations have shut down in D.C., Maryland and Virginia in recent years.
As Jessica Forres reports, that number is expected to rise...
June 29, 2009 - The apparent drowning of a Maryland child at a public pool manned by several lifeguards is shining a spotlight on the safety of pools that rely on teenage staff. Lawyers involved in litigation stemming from pool drownings say the situation is worse than many think. They place much of the blame on cities outsourcing their pool management to private firms, including the hiring and training of seasonal lifeguards. Teens as young as 15 years old are encouraged to apply for these popular summer jobs where the starting pay can be as low as $7 an hour.
Mana Rabiee reports...
June 29, 2009 - Modern-day espionage and post-9/11 realities make for an otherwise family-friendly spy game courtesy of Washington's International Spy Museum. Spy in the City is the museum's new interactive game. It's an outdoor, self-guided espionage mission using a GPS device with audio visual clues. The plot is pulled directly from our post-9/11 world. Players help a spy stop a terror attack on the nation's capitol. But Spy in the City was designed as more than just a game, because the Spy Museum itself was founded shortly before the one year anniversary of 9/11 by retired veterans of the CIA.
Mana Rabiee reports...
June 29, 2009 - The ringleader of a scheme that drained nearly $50 million from the D.C. Treasury is scheduled to be sentenced this week. Harriette Walters pleaded guilty in September to wire fraud, money laundering and other charges
The former tax office manager has been in jail since her arrest in 2007. She'll be sentenced tomorrow in U.S. District Court. Walters' attorney has said that his client considered herself a "benefactor" as she gave money to others. Eleven people have pleaded guilty to participating in the scheme.
Patrick Madden reports...
June 29, 2009 - With lawmakers on recess, Elizabeth Wynn Johnson takes a look at the legislation already passed through this rather active Congress.
June 29, 2009 - A federal judge is expected to hear arguments today on whether D.C. should be held in contempt of court over its child welfare agency.
A contempt ruling could place D.C.'s Child and Family Services Agency under federal receivership. And it wouldn't be the first time that happened. The agency spent five years under receivership before the city regained control nine years ago.
CFSA came under intense scrutiny again last year after a woman was found living with the bodies of her four daughters in southeast Washington. A child advocacy group took the agency to court, alleging that CFSA was not addressing a backlog of cases, moving children quickly into permanent homes or providing health care.
Last month, a court-appointed monitor released a report saying that D.C.'s Child and Family Services Agency was still failing to provide adequate care for abused and neglected children. Officials in the District have said they have current data showing that the agency has improved.
Rebecca Blatt reports...
June 29, 2009 - The Montgomery County Council is set to take up the issue of ambulance fees this week. The council tabled a bill last November that would have allowed the county to charge fees for ambulance services.
But County Executive Isiah Leggett says the county needs the money. The fees would bring in an estimated $14 million in revenue each year. In May, Leggett proposed a measure requiring people who use county ambulances to provide information for billing purposes. Opponents of the fees say they could discourage people from calling for help. The council has until tomorrow to accept, kill or postpone Leggett's proposal.
Rebecca Blatt reports...
June 29, 2009 - Families in Virginia who are facing foreclosure could get some help paying for debt counseling. About $50,000 from a settlement with Countrywide Financial Corporation is being set aside for grants to help nonprofit agencies provide the debt counseling. Those grants are expected to help about 200 families. The settlement related to alleged deceptive acts and practices with Countrywide's mortgage activities in Virginia. State Attorney General Bill Mims' office says the settlement money will supplement funds already allocated by the Virginia Housing Development Authority and the Department of Housing and Community Development.
Matt McCleskey has more...
June 29, 2009 - Some lawmakers in Virginia say people with excruciating pain are unable to receive powerful painkilling drugs they need due to a hacker's attack on the state prescription drug database. Two Virginia legislative panels took aim Monday on the state's troubled computer superagency and its $2 billion, 10-year contract with Northrop Grumman Corporation. The hacker accessed 35 million computerized prescription records in late April.
A House panel learned that powerful drugs such as Oxycontin, Valium, Vicodin and Ritalin are being withheld because pharmacists can't check with the prescription drug database that still allows limited access. One delegate, Bob Purkey, asked whether the breach was sufficient to cancel or renegotiate the Northrop Grumman contract.
Meymo Lyons reports...
June 29, 2009 - Fewer residents in the Washington region are expected to leave home for the Independence Day holiday amid ongoing concerns about the economy. AAA Mid-Atlantic predicts about 859,000 D.C.-area residents will travel at least 50 miles from home over the three-day weekend, a drop of more than 2 percent from last year. Meanwhile, the organization says about 709,000 Maryland residents are expected to travel at least 50 miles, which is about the same as last year. Nearly 100,000 Delaware residents also are expected to leave home, down 2 percent from 2008. AAA spokesman John Townsend says the high price of gasoline, which is averaging about $2.60 a gallon, is convincing some drivers to stay home. But he says AAA expects a modest increase in air travel because of more attractive fares.
Meymo Lyons reports...
June 29, 2009 - Montgomery County Executive Isiah Leggett's plan to charge ambulance user fees has suffered another setback. The County Council's public safety committee recommended not setting the prices for the fees, which would run between $300 and $800. The full council could vote on the measure tomorrow or delay a vote on it until the end of the year.
Matt Bush reports...
June 29, 2009 - (March 26th - July 26th) Metropolis Now! "Metropolis Now!" is a selection of Chinese Contemporary Art at the Meridian International Center in Northwest D.C. that's open afternoons from 2 to 5, Wednesday through Sunday. The exhibit features paintings, sculptures, video and mixed media installations by 31 Chinese artists. The works reflect the monumental transformations going on in China's urban centers: the changing relationship between individual and society, the rapid consumerization of Chinese urban culture and the industrialization of China's cities.
(June 30th) American Indian Flute You can catch an American Indian Flute performance at the Bethesda Farmers Market in Maryland, today at noon. Musician Ron Warren began exploring the American Indian Flute to honor his paternal ancestors and quickly emerged as a leading practitioner of the genre. He'll be joined by vocalist-percussionist Janice Torres.
(June 30th) The Color Purple "The Color Purple" is at the Kennedy Center Opera House in D.C., starting tonight at 7:30. Based on Alice Walker's novel, the musical is set in 1930's rural Georgia and tells the story of Celie, a badly-mistreated and nearly-broken, African-American woman who finds happiness using the power of love. The production stars Fantasia, the winner of "American Idol's" 3rd season.
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