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Sunday, March 14, 2010
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September 03, 2009 -
(September 3) FULL "CORN MOON" BIKE RIDE The full "corn moon" bike ride takes place tonight, led by the Washington Area Bicyclists Association](http://www.waba.org/events/nightride.php). The ride tours the Capital Crescent/Georgetown Branch Trail by moonlight starting from the Georgetown Waterfront] across from Cycle Life (http://maps.google.com/maps/ms?hl=en&ie=UTF8&msa=0&ll=38.903282,-77.065541&spn=0.003448,0.006566&z=17&msid=116706197888210191894.00046e4956e2572870b74) at 8:15pm, and winding up at a barbeque at the City Bikes shop in Chevy Chase.
(Through September 6) HIGH SCHOOL ALL OVER AGAIN High School Musical makes a homecoming queen-like appearance at Wolf Trap tonight through Sunday in Vienna, Virginia. Based on the Emmy Award-winning film this live production features a live band and full cast, following two students as they navigate high school cliques en route to young love.
(Sept 4-22) CINEMA AND THE SPANISH CIVIL WAR The AFI Theater in Silver Spring, Maryland opens Cinema and the Spanish Civil War tomorrow through September 22nd. There was little acceptance of the cinema during the time of dictator Francisco Franco, as the Iberian country entered a dark period of repression and censorship. The AFI features those films that did emerge, addressing the terrible tyranny from 1936 to '39.
The full "corn moon" bike ride begins in Georgetown and winds up at a nighttime bbq in Chevy Chase.
Courtesy of: Washington Area Bicyclist Assocation
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September 03, 2009 - In his first court appearance, prosecutors described the man accused of killing a museum guard as someone with nothing to lose.
The judge ordered 89-year-old James Von Brunn to undergo a mental competency evaluation despite the self described white supremacist's objection.
The accused killer of Holocaust museum guard Stephen Johns sat quietly for most of Wednesday's hearing until his attorney requested the tests.
Suddenly Von Brunn reacted, shaking his head then calling out..."your honor."
The judge counselled von Brunn not to speak, but he rejected the advise saying, "your constitution guarantees me a speedy and fair trial."
Later, prosecutor Nicole Waid said they have a video of the shooting. Evidence they hope, will leave no doubt about Von Bruun's guilt.
The next hearing is set for October 13th.
Elliott Francis reports...
September 03, 2009 - With a robust economy supported by government and private-sector jobs, Senior Commentator Fred Fiske considers Maryland's fortunes...
The views expressed do not necessarily reflect the opinions of WAMU 88.5 or American University.
What do you think? Go to ["The Conversation"](http://CONVERSATION.WAMU.ORG" and click on "Commentary Forum."
September 03, 2009 - Two years ago, Amy Vruno and her fiance Chuck Roberts bought a 100-year-old house in Northeast, D.C. They loved the exposed brick and the pine floors. But the heating costs were a killer... $350 a month in the winter. And, Vruno says, it was still cold.
Then, Vruno and Roberts became the lucky beneficiaries of a union job-training program. The Laborers' International Union of North America chose their house to showcase a new program designed to teach local workers to weatherize homes.
The union designed the program after the federal government allocated $5 billion to help Americans improve home-energy efficiency.
Union workers spent the day in the couple's old house, sealing windows, filling in cracks, and insulating the water heater--saving the homeowners up to $4,000 in labor costs alone.
Jessica Gould reports...
September 03, 2009 - Democratic National Committee leaders say they're about to ramp up spending in the state of Virginia to aid gubernatorial candidate Creigh (Cree) Deeds and other statewide candidates.
National Party spokesman Brad Woodhouse says by this year's Nov. 3 election, the Democratic National Committee will have matched the funding support it gave to Tim Kaine's 2005 campaign.
Kaine took over in January as chairman of the DNC and faces high expectations of keeping the governor's office in Democratic hands for a third consecutive term.
The most recent statewide poll shows Deeds trailing Republican Bob McDonnell.
The DNC has already put about $1 million into the Virginia race and will pump about $4 million more into Deeds' campaign and the state Democratic Party in the two-month stretch run to election day.
Jonathan Wilson reports...
September 03, 2009 - For Kirk Wiles, there's nothing better than standing amid his two acres of grapevines on a bright, September afternoon.
"Feeling the wind blow and the sun coming down and the quietness, hearing the birds chirp in the trees," he says, "It's about getting away from it all."
A few years ago, Wiles' family inherited this land near Clifton in a sparsely populated area near the Prince William County border.
The 37-acre property is zoned for agriculture and the Wileses planned to open a winery. They'd call it Paradise Springs.
But county officials said a winery is a manufacturing facility, inconsistent with zoning in the area.
Neighbors expressed concern about increased traffic on the narrow road leading to the property. Kirk Wiles says he's racked up $50,000 in legal fees fighting the decision.
"It's consumed my life for the last two plus years," he says, "And it's extremely stressful because it's still in the balance."
Fairfax County Supervisor Pat Herrity, a Republican who represents the Clifton area, says the county should not block Paradise Springs.
"I'm focused on how can we get the winery there and put the appropriate restrictions on it," says Herrity.
For his part, Kirk Wiles says if he doesn't obtain the permit, he'll have to subdivide and sell the property to developers.
David Schultz reports...
September 03, 2009 - It was standing-room-only at the Rock Creek Park Nature Center, as the National Park Service invited public comments on the Park's burgeoning deer population. The Park Service has proposed several strategies for lessening the deer's adverse impact on forest regeneration. Park Superintendant Adrienne Coleman was going to kick off the meeting with a mix-and-mingle between Park staff and the roughly 130 attendees.
"But you know, you guys don't look like you want an open house," she said.
The audience agreed.
The Park Service's deer-management plans inspired comments from nearly half the audience, many of whom have lived near the Park for years - like Mary Clark.
"Bambi has to go," Clark says. "I only came tonight because I was afraid there wasn't gonna be anybody here that would say it!"
But many echoed Clark's support of lethal culling methods, such as sharpshooting and euthanasia.
William Stone has lived a block from the Park for over a decade.
"We walk daily with our dog there, our kids," Stone says. "You walk around and there's no new growth. No new trees, no plantings.
But some people weren't concerned about the Park's plantings.
Marja Snyder favors lethal strategies, but other gardeners disagreed.
"I want, by the way, to absolve the Park Service for responsibility in my yard," says Don Swenholt.
Don Swenholt backs non-lethal methods, like injecting does with contraceptives. Several animal-rights groups seconded this motion at the meeting, including Friends of Animals, the Animal Welfare Institute and the Humane Society. Despite the debate, it appeared the crowd did agree on one thing. No one voiced support for the Park Service's first option: doing nothing.
Rebecca Sheir reports...
September 03, 2009 - Health care remains a potent political issue despite the Congressional recess, and Americans are making their voices heard. About 100 people gathered at the U.S. Capitol to support a health care overhaul.
In the Senate Park, Mahdi Bray of Annandale stood among the crowd holding a lit candle. Bray wants Congress to change the current health care system so others will not suffer the way he has. He said he filed for bankruptcy after his wife gave birth to a premature baby. He said his insurance provider refused to cover all the care his daughter needed.
"It was a great trauma to our family because as we had to worry about our little one we ha d to find some way to deal with the incredible debts we had incurred that’s just simply because the insurance company was allowed to just bailout and say no we are not going to pay," he says.
Bray runs a political action committee in D.C. Progressive groups have helped organize similar events nationwide. They want a health care reform bill that includes a government insurance plan.
Sara Sciammacco reports...
September 03, 2009 - As Obama administration officials fan out across the country today to talk about economic recovery, others weigh in. Elizabeth Wynne Johnson reports...
September 03, 2009 - Over 100 community members crowded the Rock Creek Park Nature Center to discuss the Park's white-tailed deer herd and how to manage its rising numbers.
D.C. resident Jason Berry worries about deer browsing destroying the Park's plants and other wildlife. "In trying to save the deer, we're actually giving a death sentence to a lot of these other plants and animals that are in the understory area," says Berry.
But Chris Ritzert, an avid gardener who lives near Rock Creek, doesn't fear for the Park's vegetation. I make a habit of going out and picking up solid waste from deer. I picked up 21 piles this past Monday morning," says Ritzert, it's revolting."
Which is why Ritzert is among many in the community who advocate lethal deer-control measures. The Park Service is proposing sharpshooting and euthenasia.
Non-lethal methods, such as birth control, are also garnering support--from animal rights groups, and from people like Dawn Grodsky. "The deer eat my flowers and foliage. but I do not think it's a capital offense," says Grodsky.
The Park Service is taking written comments through October 2nd. It hopes to select a strategy by December 2010.
Rebecca Sheir reports...
September 03, 2009 - Virginia is getting $2.8 million from the federal government to reimburse state and local agencies for costs associated with President Obama's inauguration. The money will help cover expenses accrued by law enforcement, security, and public safety agencies during the Inauguration in January and the transition period.
In a statement, Governor Tim Kaine said he's proud of the assistance Virginia offered for the event and is glad the state could recoup some of its expenses. Kaine, also the head of the Democratic National Committee, was an early supporter of President Obama's bid for his party's nomination.
Maryland announced earlier this week that it's being reimbursed $3.2 million for inauguration expenses, while $2 million more is going to Amtrak.
Metro's federal reimbursement, meanwhile, will now total $3.9 million after more funds were announced this week. On Inauguration Day, January 20th, Metro handled more than 1.5 million trips, the highest daily ridership in the transit agency's history.
Matt McCleskey reports...
September 03, 2009 - A Metro bus hit a pedestrian in northwest D.C this morning. Metro spokeswoman Taryn McNeil says the bus was turning from Connecticut Avenue onto Florida Avenue shortly after 8:30 a.m. Thursday, when it hit a woman who may have been jogging.
The woman was transported to a local hospital with life threatening injuries.
McNeil says the bus was not in service at the time of the incident and was on its way to a garage. As is standard procedure, the driver has been placed on administrative leave pending an investigation and will be given a drug test.
Jonathan Wilson reports...
September 03, 2009 - Maryland is expecting a bump in traffic over the Chesapeake Bay Bridge this Labor Day weekend. The Maryland Transportation Authority, which operates the bridge, says traffic on the bridge is expected to increase 3 percent.
The agency used 2007 for comparison because repairs limited traffic on the bridge over Labor Day weekend last year.
In the meantime, AAA Mid-Atlantic says the number of people traveling statewide is expected to be down. Spokesman John Townsend points to the timing of the holiday as a factor,as many schools are already in session.
AAA estimates nearly 600,000 Marylanders will take to the roads, down 13 percent from last Labor Day weekend.
Meymo Lyons reports...
September 03, 2009 - Education officials in D.C. have announced new security guidelines for standardized testing in the city's public schools. This comes after an investigation into possible cheating.
After the 2008 standardized tests, the former state superintendent asked for an investigation of results at 26 public schools, that made gains of 20 percent or higher. Students' answer sheets were checked to see whether there was a higher-than-average number of incorrect answers that were erased and then corrected. That analysis was found to be inconclusive.
The state superintendent of D.C. Public schools, Kerri Briggs, announced new guidelines for standardized testing. New protocols for security include a daily checklist which details the exact times materials are checked out, check that students are working on the appropriate section of the test and that they are not left alone during any part of the test. There is a a reporting process and consequences for test violations.
Kavitha Cardoza reports...
September 03, 2009 - BLACKSBURG, Va. (AP) A Virginia Tech student group is holding a ceremony to honor the lives of the student couple slain last week in the Jefferson National Forest.
Hokies United organized the 7 p.m. Thursday ceremony for 19-year-old David Lee Metzler and 18-year-old Heidi Lynn Childs on the university's main lawn.
The informal ceremony will consist of a moment of silence and reflection. The student group organized placement of memorial stones on the lawn in April 2007 after a student gunman killed 32 people and took his own life.
A passer-by found the bodies of Metzler and Childs early on Aug. 27 in a day use and campground area about 15 miles from campus. Police say the students appeared to have been shot.
(Copyright 2009 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)
September 03, 2009 - BALTIMORE (AP) A December trial date has been set for Baltimore City Councilwoman Helen Holton, who is charged with violating campaign finance laws.
The Dec. 7 trial date was set at a brief hearing Wednesday. Holton did not attend. Holton's lawyer Joshua Treem says his client "would like to have this case finished."
Holton was indicted in July in connection with a political poll Baltimore developers Ronald Lipscomb and John Paterakis paid $12,500 for. State law limits campaign donations to $4,000 from individual contributors per four-year election cycle.
Holton was initially charged with bribery, but a judge threw out those charges.
(Copyright 2009 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)
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