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Tuesday, December 15, 2009
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July 13, 2009 - "Head Start" and "Early Head Start" programs will soon receive more than two billion dollars in federal stimulus money and the Edward C. Mazique Parent Child Center in Northwest Washington is hoping to receive some of it. Mazique's director, Almeta Keys, is requesting almost a million dollars so she can recruit new students, train teachers and remodel some buildings, "Ideally, we would like to be funded for 72 children which means that we will need additional space. We are up to capacity in the five centers we serve." Keys was unemployed and raising five children when she became a Head Start parent. She got involved and was able to enroll in college and become an advocate herself. Many on her staff are or once were Head Start parents. The families at Mazique come from diverse backgrounds: immigrants, single parents and pregnant teenagers. Aweke Megersa and his family are Ethiopian immigrants who arrived in America last year. His children, a four-year-old and a 20-month-old, attend the Mazique Center and he and his wife also work here. The children learn to read and improve their motor skills. They play, games and toys are everywhere, and they use computers. Parents help operate the center while learning about child nutrition and acquiring job skills. Some, like Keys, have returned to school seeking a fresh start and a chance to lift themselves out of poverty.
Chris Linden reports...
July 13, 2009 -
(July 9-26) CAP FRINGE D.C.'s Capital Fringe Festival is underway, providing unusual offerings in alternative venues. One of those offerings includes the play 4.48 Psychosis, running through July 15th at The Trading Post in Northwest Washington. The play takes a serious look at therapy, medication and depression, and was playwright Sarah Kane's last work before she committed suicide at the age of twenty-eight.
(July 15, 29; August 12) STORIES FROM THE VAULT The Folger Shakespeare Library on Capitol Hill presents a new series this summer -- Stories from the Vaults brings the treasures of the Folger's collections above ground for the public to explore on Wednesday from 6 to 8pm, and again July 29th and August 12th. These free events feature both savory and sweet samplings, with a look at mysterious portraits and rare documents followed by a dessert reception in the Great Hall.
(Wednesdays through August 26) ART HAPPY HOUR Every Wednesday is happy hour at in Georgetown, as select restaurants, retailers and salons offer samples, specials and prizes. Calloway Fine Arts is taking advantage of the crowds, offering art-related lectures from tips on how to group and hang art, conservation and framing, through August 26th.
July 13, 2009 - The trial of Banita Jacks is scheduled to begin Monday morning in D-C -- nearly a year and a half after authorities found the bodies of her four daughters in her home. Jacks and her attorneys are asking for more time to prepare for the case Monday morning. Jacks is accused of killing her four daughters in her home in Southeast Washington. Police believed they were killed six months before their bodies were discovered by U.S. marshals serving an eviction notice. Her fate will be decided by a judge and not a jury -- last month her attorneys asked for a bench trial and Judge Frederick Weisberg granted the motion. If Weisberg denies the request for a continuance, the trial will begin Monday as scheduled. Jonathan Wilson reports...
July 13, 2009 - John Zhang just stepped out of the Smithsonian Metro Station and he's looking for a map. "I'm going to the White House," he says. "I don't know where it is." Zhang and his family drove ten hours from Toronto to visit Washington for their summer vacation. The head of D.C.'s official tourism bureau, Elliot Ferguson, says the Zhangs are exactly the kind of people he's trying to attract: "We are focusing more on the international tourists. ... Becuase of the weakened dollar, they're more willing to come into our city, stay in our hotels, eat in our fine restaurants and stay for a longer period of time." Ferguson says the White House's newest occupant, President Barack Obama, has made the city even more appealing to international travelers: "This is no secret that the United States traditionally has not been perceived very positively internationally, especially with the last administration. With the current administration, there's a lot more excitement about coming to the U.S. and Washington D.C." But Ferguson says tourism in the District is being affected by the recession. The city's hotels are three percent less full now than they were a year ago. David Schultz reports...
July 13, 2009 - Hundreds of Iranian-Americans marched on Capitol Hill to demand the U.S. reject last month's election results in Iran but the State Department calls the main organizer of the rally a terrorist group. Organizers say the demonstration was planned as a coalition effort among dozens of Persian-American groups including several based in northern Virginia. But the only organized group largely visible at the protest was the National Council of Resistance of Iran - which has ties to an armed movement called the People's Mujahedin of Iran. Mana Rabiee reports...
July 13, 2009 - A D.C. Council member is pushing to make it easier to vote in the District. Councilwoman Mary Cheh says her election reform bill would remove several barriers to voting. It would allow residents to register and vote on the same day. It would also let many 17-year-olds vote in primary elections and make early and absentee voting easier. The bill would also create a paper trail. The legislation would make the city return to paper ballots or guarantee paper receipts from electronic voting machines. A hearing on the bill is scheduled for later today.
Patrick Madden reports
July 13, 2009 - A former federal prosecutor will begin looking into the contract between former mayor Marion Barry and his ex-girlfriend this week. D.C. Council Chair Vincent Gray has appointed Washington lawyer Robert Bennett to review whether councilman Barry complied with city laws and council rules when he awarded a 60 thousand dollar contract to Donna Watts-Brighthaupt. Bennett is best known for defending President Bill Clinton against sexual harassment charges. Gray says hell introduce an emergency resolution to the council tomorrow. Barry says he believes the probe will show he did not break the law.
Patrick Madden reports
July 13, 2009 - Elizabeth Wynne Johnson previews the Sotomayor hearings in today's Power Breakfast.
July 13, 2009 - The District may make it easier for residents to vote. Nearly 40 percent of registered D.C. voters did not vote in the November election last year. Now city lawmakers are proposing a bill that would clear many of the hurdles to casting a ballot: same-day registration and voting, letting many 17-year-olds vote in primary elections, and removing the restrictions on early and absentee voting. At a Council hearing earlier today on the bill, members of the Districts Republican Committee argued the measure would lead to voter fraud.
Patrick Madden reports
July 13, 2009 - The trial of Banita Jacks, a woman accused of killing her four daughter in Southeast Washington, is moving forward, after a DC Superior Court Judge denied a request to postpone hearing the case.
Jonathan Wilson reports...
July 13, 2009 - Virginia is offering state employees small, short-term loans and financial education. Officials say it's an effort to help prevent borrowers from having to turn to payday or car title lenders. Employees will be able to apply for loans of $100 to $500. To qualify, they'll have to be members of the Virginia Credit Union. They'll also have to complete an online financial course and financial literacy exam.
Governor Tim Kaine says he hopes the initiative will prompt other employers in Virginia to create similar programs. Legislators in Virginia recently cracked down on payday lenders. Bills to further regulate car title lenders have continuously failed.
Rebecca Blatt reports...
July 13, 2009 - Cost could force a major change to a mass transit project beginning in Montgomery County, Maryland. The Corridor Cities Transitway would start at the Shady Grove Metro station in Gaithersburg and go as far north as Frederick. Montgomery County Executive Isiah Leggett and a majority of the county council want the project to consist of light rail. But the county planning board is recommending it be bus rapid transit, which is cheaper, and possibly more acceptable to federal funding agencies. Council President Phil Andrews says either option could be completed sooner than other more controversial projects like the Purple Line and the Inter County Connector.
Matt Bush reports...
July 13, 2009 - With a 26-61 record, the worst in major league baseball, the Washington Nationals have fired manager Manny Acta in hopes for a better second half of the season. The decision comes at the halfway point of the season. Nationals spokesman Mike Gazda says the team has underachieved and is better than it has shown on the field. Bench coach Jim Riggleman was chosen as interim replacement. He has nine seasons of major league baseball managing experience with the Padres, Cubs and Mariners. The Washington National's next home game is this Thursday against the Chicago Cubs.
Natalie Neumann reports...
July 13, 2009 - DC Public School students continue to show improvement in their reading and math scores. That's according to preliminary test results for the 2008-2009 academic year. Just two years ago, fewer than a third of public elementary school students in the District were proficient in reading or math. But according to this year's DC Comprehensive Assessment System tests, nearly half of them are proficient in both subject areas. In the same time frame, D-C high school students have shown double-digit increases. The achivement gap between African-American and White students continues to close. Among high school students, the gap decreased from 70 percent to 50 percent in two years. Schools Chancellor Michelle Rhee gives credit to the students and educators. And also some of her unpopular decisions to replace certain principals. Rhee also says focussing on accountability and individual student data helped. Other sub-groups also showed gains, including low-income students, special education students and those who speak English as a second language. Kavitha Cardoza reports....
July 13, 2009 - The trial of Banita Jacks -- scheduled to start this morning in D.C. Superior Court -- has been delayed yet again. This comes nearly a year and a half after U.S. Marshals found the bodies of Jacks four daughters in her home.
Jacks and her defense attorneys started off the morning requesting a continuance -- which the judge denied.
But he then spent the afternoon watching tapes of police interviewing Jacks.
She requested not to be present while the tapes were aired and left the courtroom, shackled and handcuffed, before the video started.
Tomorrow the judge is expected to rule on whether police violated Jacks rights during the six hour interrogation, and whether the tapes can be used as evidence in the trial.
Jonathan Wilson reports
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