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Wednesday, March 17, 2010
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July 30, 2009 - Fire fighters in Washington have to battle more than just flames. At a major house fire in Northwest D.C., a broken hydrant and low water pressure made their job all the more difficult.
Firefighters arrived at 3022 Chain Bridge Road knowing the nearest hydrant was not working. Dennis Rubin is a spokesman for the D.C. Fire Department. He says they are responsible for the working of the hydrants, so they counted it out of service though it was one of the closest.
Trucks and firefighters lined the intersection where Nebraska Avenue, Loughboro Road and Indian Lane meet. Rubin said the other hydrants in the area were not able to deliver enough volume or pressure for firefighters to be able to quickly and effectively extinguish the fire. Although full hoses snaked through the neighborhood and the streets ran with water, questions remain. In the meantime, the Cafritz family will return from vacation homeless. Taylor Lipnick, a relative who lives nearby, says the home belonged to Peggy Cooper Cafritz, a local philanthropist and community leader.
Stephanie Kaye was at the scene...
July 30, 2009 - Democrats continue playing tug-of-war over health care. A hearing looks at campaign-finance reform, meanwhile testimony focuses on violence on reservations.
Manuel Quinones reports...
July 30, 2009 - The National Federation of the Blind has filed a complaint saying Baltimore's public schools aren't meeting the needs of blind students. The complaint, filed with the Maryland's State Department of Education, lists several specific allegations according to the Daily Record.
The organization says blind and low-vision students aren't taught adequate Braille skills, they don't learn how to get around independently and they don't have access to technology that would allow them to use printed materials.
Spokespeople for the school system and state's Department of Education declined to comment but said they were looking into the complaint.
Rebecca Blatt reports...
July 30, 2009 - With $280 million dollars in Maryland budget cuts announced this month, and $400 million more on the way, Maryland Governor Martin O'Malley talks with WAMU host Matt McCleskey about his state's economic future.
July 30, 2009 - Tuition for in-state students at Maryland's public universities will remain steady next year, according to Gov. Martin O'Malley. Keeping college tuition down was a key promise in his election campaign in 2006. But with the state facing nearly $700 million in budget cuts this year, and with some of $38 million of that coming from the university system, some had wondered if that promise could last.
Speaking today on WAMU 88.5's Morning Edition, O'Malley said despite the budget cuts, tuition won't be going up, at least next year.
"You can't hold the line forever," he said. "The price of everything ultimately goes up with inflation, but making college more affordable is one of the primary goals of the O'Malley-Brown administration."
To deal with the cuts, the university system's flagship campus at College Park is putting a freeze on new hiring and will reduce staff through retirements and possible layoffs. The governor says funding for K-12 education wil not be cut.
Matt McCleskey reports...
July 30, 2009 - A white supremacist accused of killing a security guard at the U.S. Holocaust Memorial Museum is scheduled to be arraigned in September. Federal public defender A.J. Kramer says the arraignment for his client, 89-year-old James von Brunn, is set for Sept. 2 in U.S. District Court in Washington. Kramer says a hearing scheduled for Thursday was canceled. On Wednesday, von Brunn was indicted on seven counts, including first-degree murder, killing in a federal building and bias-motivated crime. Four of the charges make him eligible for the death penalty. Authorities say von Brunn shot and killed museum guard Stephen T. Johns on June 10. Von Brunn was shot in the face by other guards but survived; he has been hospitalized since the shooting.
Meymo Lyons has more...
July 30, 2009 - City leaders are calling for answers and accountability from Washington's water authority, after low water pressure left firefighters unable to deal with a major fire in Northwest D.C.
The fire happened in Ward 3, under the jurisdiction of Council member Mary Cheh. She wants to know why the Water and Sewer Authority couldn't deliver enough water to fight a fire at a home on Chain Bridge Road. She says she thought an ongoing problem with the city's hydrants "was taken care of" after WASA checked them along with the fire department.
The blaze destroyed the home of prominent Washingtonian Peggy Cooper Cafritz. The mansion housed a priceless art collection. No one was hurt. Cheh says if WASA can't explain itself today, she will pursue the issue with the rest of the city council.
Stephanie Kaye reports...
July 30, 2009 - Officials are still not sure why fire fighters didn't have sufficient water pressure to contain a blaze that destroyed the Palisades Mansion of Philanthropist Peggy Cooper Chafitz and her priceless art collection. One thing is clear: the blaze was massive. Neighbor Noha Naquib was only two doors down.
"You could see the fire blazing up beyond the tree levels," she says.
Fire fighters responded within two minutes. About 150 of them eventually swarmed the scene. But fire fighters don't douse flames, water does. And that's what was missing.
Pete Piringer is with D.C. Fire and EMS, he said it was "about an hour or two before we got any kind of consistent, solid water supply, and that was from other neighborhoods."
Many residents said water pressure has been a constant problem in the neighborhood over the past few months. One next-door neighbor who didn't want to be named decried "the idea that we would not have water day after day and nobody tells us there won't be any! I was in the shower and the water goes off all of a sudden, my hair is sopping wet. It's ridiculous."
Another possibility is that firefighters drew too much water from one water main. New hydrants tell fire fighters how much flow they can handle. But the closest hydrants didn't have those markings. Washington Area Sewer Authority spokesman Charles Kiley said that D.C. is upgrading all the hydrants in the District, but they're only about 40 percent through the system.
Another possibility is that this fire was just too big for the city's water infrastructure. Fire Chief Dennis Rubin estimated that a fire this size would have required 3,500 gallons of water a minute to contain. But WASA manager Charles Kiley says their goal is only to provide 1000 gallons of water a minute. The investigation is ongoing.
Sabri Ben-Achour reports...
July 30, 2009 - A bipartisan group of senators is trying to reauthorize funding for the D.C. Opportunity Scholarship program. It's a program where low income children in D.C. receive public funding to attend private and parochial schools. Little children sat cross legged in front of the speakers. The senators want to reauthorize and expand the program for five years. The program is currently slated to end next year.
Under the new proposal, K-8 students would receive $9,000, and high school students would receive 11,000students. It would give priority to siblings of students already in the program, require buildings be up to code and ask that teacher's of core subjects have a bachelors degree. Senator Joe Leiberman, an independant from Connecticut, says these children should not be asked to return to failing public schools. An independent study recently released showed after three years, students in the program showed slightly higher reading test scores. There were no gains, however, shown in math. The bill is expected to be introduced after Labor Day.
Kavitha Cardoza reports...
July 30, 2009 - As part of our continuing series called "Conversations," reporter Michael Cottman speaks with marine biologist Dr. Jose Jones about his recent award from the U.S. Department of Interior and how pollution is taking a devastating toll on the world's oceans...
July 30, 2009 - The recession is over. At least that's what it says on the cover of Newsweek magazine. Whether you agree or not, the article certainly inspired commentator Fred Fiske to sit up and take notice.
The views expressed do not necessarily reflect the opinions of WAMU 88.5 or American University.
What do you think?
Go to: Conversation.WAMU.org and click on "Commentary Forum."
July 30, 2009 - As sales of existing homes begin to rise across the country, local organizations continue to deal with the fallout of the foreclosure crisis. Peyton Herbert is the Director of Foreclosure Services at HomeFreeUSA. The non-profit counsels homeowners. He says responsibility rests with borrowers as well as lenders.
Betty, who asked not to give her last name, has been in need of help. Now, she can be found on the other side of the counselor's desk, helping borrowers approach their lenders. Her boss at the Hyattsville office is Steven Geller, Chief Operating Officer of HomeFree USA. He says between April and September of this year the office expects to see about two thousand families.
Of the sub-prime borrowers who get help, 65 percent will be unable to make their house payments again within a year and may be looking into those apartments near the mall.
Stephanie Kaye reports...
July 30, 2009 - (Fridays & Saturdays year-round) CAPITOL STEPPING If you don't get enough political wrangling in Washington, the comedy troupe Capitol Steps is happy to provide more. The show goes on every Friday and Saturday night at 7:30 year-round at the Ronald Reagan Building in downtown D.C. - just up the street from "comedy central," Capitol Hill.
(August 1-September 25) ART EAST OF THE RIVER The annual East of the River exhibit brings the artwork of Wards 7 and 8 to the fore, at Honfleur Gallery in Southeast D.C., opening Saturday night with a reception at 7. The show runs through September 26th. Honfleur features artists rooted in Anacostia, Greenway and Congress Heights. The show's theme, "Beauty and the Beast," presents the local yet universal issues of poverty and violence in vibrant and graceful works.
Also, on September 11th during the East of the River exhibition, Honfleur Gallery will be hosting a concert by Piedmont Blues legend and D.C. native Phil Wiggins.
(Through October 25) MOVIES ON THE POTOMAC See if you can keep your eyes on the screen during Movies on the Potomac at National Harbor in Prince George's County. The outdoor film series hosts family movies on Sundays and adult flicks on Thursdays. The picturesque venue, alongside the Potomac River, provides visual competition for the watery adventure movie Flipper and the wet comedy Surf's Up, airing this week.
July 30, 2009 - Washington area beach-goers lured by the summer heat are swimming in some of the nation's cleanest beaches. Closings and advisories because of water contamination have dropped by 42 percent in Virginia. The Commonwealth ranks 3rd in the nation for clean beaches according to the Natural Resources Defense Council. Maryland trails in 8th place but spokeswoman Nancy Stoner has high praise for Ocean City.
"That is one of the best beaches in the nation," she says. "It's a five star beach. It has good water quality, it's monitored more than once a week and they promptly inform the public of any problems they have at the beach."
Delaware ranked number one for clean beaches in nation.
"Bethany beach, Dewey beach, Fenwick Island and Rehobith Beach, they all got four out of five stars." Stoner says, adding that the Delaware beaches would have received five stars if the waters were monitored more often.
Natalie Neumann reports...
July 30, 2009 - The cancer research arm of the World Health Organization had long suspected artificial tanning devices increase the risk of cancer. This week, the Organization confirmed it. It says people who use tanning beds under the age of 30 increase their risk of melanoma or skin cancer by 75 percent.
Rachel Weinberg is the manager of Palm Beach Tanning in McLean, a locally owned franchise. She says she doesn't put much stock in the findings.
"They say you're at risk but you're at risk doing anything," she says. "When you walk out the door you're at risk."
The Indoor Tanning Association calls the World Health Organization's conclusions "irresponsible" and "unfair." The association's president, Dan Humiston, says there is no difference between the UV light from a tanning bed and the rays of the sun. He says his organization always has emphasized moderation in exposure to sunlight and tanning beds.
David Schultz reports...
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