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Thursday, March 11, 2010
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September 10, 2009 - Police in D.C. count the sex-trafficking of minors among Washington's most under-reported crimes. A new public-awareness campaign is hoping to change that.
So far this year, officers in D.C. have identified more than 50 victims of human trafficking--15 were minors.
"This has probably been one of the hardest issues of my life," said Linda Smith. "Because these kids look like my own kids."
Linda Smith is the founder of Shared Hope International, an international non-profit dedicated to preventing child sex-trafficking.
She says wealth in the D.C. area has helped turn the region into a sex trafficking hub. "A pimp can bring a girl to D.C., dress her up, advertise her on an erotic website, put her in a fancy room and make thousands of dollars off of her this week, and probably tens of thousands," said Smith.
Shared Hope International is working with other non-profits and law enforcement in Washington on a program they are calling "End Child Sex Trafficking: Kids Are Not For Sale In D.C."
Organizers of the campaign have plastered bright yellow signs in Metro stations, and placed ads in the Adult Classifieds. They warn of stiff penalties for people thinking about buying sex, and--as D.C. Police Captain Charles Morris points out, for people thinking about selling it.
"Dealing with 13-year-olds, 16-year-olds, 14-year-olds, you're able to control. And that's what we have to take away," said Morris.
The D.C. Council also is considering legislation to reduce sex-trafficking in the District.
Rebecca Sheir reports...
September 10, 2009 - President Barack Obama's back-to-school speaking gig generated plenty of controversy this week--a fact that left commentator Fred Fiske scratching his head.
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September 10, 2009 - Virginia has cut transportation funding by more than $4 billion in the last year and a half. It's all but eliminated the funding it gives local jurisdictions for secondary roads. And it's laid off nearly 1,500 transportation employees.
At a meeting of Northern Virginia business leaders, Transportation Secretary Pierce Homer says his agency is in a full-blown crisis. "And the reason for that," says Homer, "Is that we are a business that is based on the sale of gasoline and new and used cars. It is not a healthy business model."
In Virginia, transportation is funded through taxes on gas and car sales. Both have plummeted in this recession. Secretary Homer says he'd like to start new projects, such as extending Metro's Orange line to Centreville. "But how do you do that," he asks, "In this environment where we're not taking care of what we already have?"
Homer warns Virginia may lose out on federal funding for new projects because it can't provide matching funds.
David Schultz reports...
September 10, 2009 - Members of Congress weren't the only ones watching the President's health care speech last night. T.V. screens across the country were also tuned in, including the screens at local eatery Bus Boys and Poets.
Any doubts that the crowd at Bus Boys and Poets was Obama- friendly probably would have been erased after the ovation that erupted when the President first appeared on the T.V. screens across the restaurant.
All of the speeche's applause lines also got the desired reaction here.
And after the speech was over, many people, like 70-year-old Tom Long, were gushing praise.
"I expected it to be a dynamic speech, and it was. It was a great speech," Long said.
22-year-old Leslie Viano was one of the few people in the room who voted against Obama. Viano said though she's not a huge Obama fan, she'd love to see some changes to the health care system.
But she thinks Obama's speech may have come too late to be of use in the debate.
"This is what you were looking for earlier," she said. "I don't know how much good it will do now."
Viano watched the speech with her friend Ryan Harper, an ardent Obama supporter. She said it wasn't a problem watching the speech with someone who doesn't share her political beliefs.
"No, not at all," she said. "We're open to different ideas, that's what's important."
Its a philosophy Viano and Harper hope Democrats and Republicans on Capitol Hill can embrace sometime soon.
Jonathan Wilson reports...
September 10, 2009 - Gentlemen - and ladies - start your engines.
Pundits do love a 'game-changer.' But to Virginia Congressman Tom Perriello, a freshman Democrat from a fairly conservative district, the President's speech before a joint session of Congress had a different role to play.
Elizabeth Wynne Johnson reports...
September 10, 2009 - Two area lawmakers say the President's speech on health care will motivate moderates from both parties to support the health insurance overhaul.
D.C. Delegate Eleanor Holmes Norton said that even in the District, residents were unclear who would qualify for public health insurance. She said the president's speech before Congress not only clarified complex issues, but also may have moved some lawmakers off the fence.
"We got some Republicans back tonight I think. But it's been very clear for weeks, this is a Democratic matter," said Norton.
Fairfax County Representative Gerry Connolly said the speech helped dispel falsehoods that critics have been spreading for months.
"He said to the left: Don't overstate the role of the public option. And then he said to the right: Don't overstate the role of the public option," said Connolly.
A bill could hit the Senate floor as early as next week. Before any bill actually becomes law, the House and Senate need to pass separate versions and reconcile the differences. That's sure to take quite some time.
From Capitol News Connection, Peter Granitz reports...
September 10, 2009 - The United States Mint will honor several landmarks in our region in a new series of commemorative quarters.
The America the Beautiful Quarters Program will honor 56 sites around the country and in U.S. territories. The first quarter, to be released next year, will feature Hot Springs National Park in Arkansas. Others will follow in the order the featured location was established as a recognized site or national park.
Maryland's Fort McHenry National Monument and Historic Shrine will be featured in 2013. Shenandoah National Park in Virginia will be honored on a 2014 release, with a Harper's Ferry National Historic Park Quarter to follow in 2016. The Frederick Douglass National Historic Site in the District will appear on a quarter due out in 2017.
In a statement, the Mint's Director, Ed Moy, says he hopes the designs will help reinvigorate interest in the featured sites, and help educate the public about their history.
Matt McCleskey reports...
September 10, 2009 - Capitol Police have arrested a Virginia man they say tried to get into a secure area near the Capitol with a gun in his car as President Barack Obama gave his health care address to Congress.
Police spokeswoman Kimberly Schneider said Thursday that 28-year-old Joshua Bowman of Falls Church, Va., was arrested around 8 p.m. Wednesday.
Schneider says Bowman approached a security checkpoint near the Cannon House Office Building in a 4-door Honda Civic and told officers he wanted to park. People who want to get into the area must have a permit and have their vehicles searched. The timing of the request raised an officer's suspicion, Schneider said, and Bowman consented to a vehicle search.
Schneider says a shotgun and ammunition were found in Bowman's trunk. She says Bowman was charged with having an unregistered firearm and ammunition.
Meymo Lyons reports...
September 10, 2009 - Although the National Mall is getting $50 million to spend on improvements, one company is volunteering to "pick up" where other projects leave off.
Stephanie Kaye reports...
September 10, 2009 - Service has resumed on Metros Blue and Orange lines after transit agency suffered another accident involving an employee earlier today.
An employee was struck by a train near the Braddock Road station in Virginia this morning. He was taken to a local hospital and Metro says he is in critical condition.
Metro says the employee is 44 years old and has worked for the transit agency for 11 years as a communications technician.
This is the fifth accident involving metro workers or subcontractors this summer. Last month two employees were killed on the job in separate incidents. In response to one of the deaths, Metro stepped up its safety procedures and ordered its employees to take refresher courses. Metro has notified the National Transportation Safety Board about the incident.
Patrick Madden reports...
September 10, 2009 - Passengers flying out of Washington Dulles International Airport next week could flow through security more quickly, as the Airport opens two new screening areas.
Construction workers scramble across scaffolding, as they put finishing touches on the main terminal's new mezzanine. Whereas passengers currently flood a single security area on the ticketing level, the mezzanine will house a checkpoint on either end of the building.
"It's less chaotic," says John Lenihan, security director for the Transportation Security Administration. "It helps us calm the experience down so we can facilitate that flow faster."
Lenihan says it will be 600-passengers-per-hour faster. The current checkpoint houses 20 lanes; the new areas will have a total of 24.
The screening areas open September 15th, at 4 a.m... this will be the first of several scheduled improvements at Dulles, including a new "Aerotrain" to move passengers from one terminal to another.
Rebecca Sheir reports...
September 10, 2009 - Metro's expenses are expected to increase by $90 million next year. And despite a growing ridership, revenue is projected to drop by $40 million because of falling advertising.
Metro board member and D.C. Councilman Jim Graham says he wasn't surprised by the sobering forecast. One big reason for the rise in spending is Metro's para-transit service for disabled riders. MetroAccess passenger trips have increased eight-fold over the last ten years and the agency is required to pick up most of the tab.
Graham says he wants to work with the disabled community and see if the program can be adjusted. But he says climbing out of this budget gap will probably require sacrifices from everyone and says a fare increase may be necessary.
Metro Board members say they want to hold town hall meetings in their jurisdictions to talk about the budget and any potential fare increases.
Patrick Madden reports...
September 10, 2009 - The House passed a bill to permanently fund conservation efforts in the Chesapeake Bay watershed.
The House bill allocates more money for local groups building parks, museums and water trails along the Chesapeake Bay. It passed on the same day the federal government warned states to pick up the slack in cleaning up the Bay.
Maryland Democrat John Sarbanes inserted language into the bill preventing funding from expiring every five years or so, which is normally the case. "The permanent authorization sends a very strong signal to all those engaged citizens who want to make sure the Chesapeake Bay is preserved and protected that you've got a permanent partner on the part of the federal government," said Sarbanes.
The entire Virginia and Maryland delegations voted for the House bill. The Senate passed a companion bill earlier this year.
From Capitol News Connection, Peter Granitz reports...
September 10, 2009 - Maryland Senator Ben Cardin is proposing a way for the federal government to help restore the Chesapeake Bay.
Cardin wants to see a nitrogen and phosphorous pollution cap-and-trade program when the federal legislation for restoring the Bay comes up for re-authorization.
Cardin says his bill codifies President Obama's order that the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency release a bay restoration strategy. The move would put the federal government in charge of efforts that had been led by bay states in the past.
The Maryland Democrat also says his bill includes $1.5 billion in grants to control urban and suburban storm water runoff, which is the only pollution sector that is still growing.
Bill Redlin reports...
September 10, 2009 - (September 11) THE BLUES AT HONFLEUR Honfleur Gallery presents Phil Wiggins & Friends in Southeast D.C. tomorrow night at 7. The beautiful gallery in the heart of historic Anacostia will pulse to the blues rhythms of one of D.C.'s native sons.
(September 10) SHAPING BLACK HISTORY The National Archives in D.C. presents The Shaping of Black History: A Hopeful Vision, A Dream Realized tonight at 7. The conversation centers on Dr. Carter Woodson's pioneering work in black history, shaping an ethos of preservation and protection of African Americans' untold stories.
(September 11- October 18) THE QUALITY OF LIFE Arena Stage opens a new play, The Quality of Life, tomorrow night at 8. The work of Emmy Award-winning writer Jane Anderson http://arenastage.pmailus.com/pmailweb/ct?d=I3lErQBzAAEAAAJAAAMOtw of TV's Mad Men runs through October 18th in Crystal City, Virginia. In the wake of personal tragedy, two cousins meet and attempt to forge a friendship out of their distant family bonds.
This wrenching story of family love is on stage in Crystal City through October 18th.
Courtesy of: Arena Stage
September 10, 2009 - RICHMOND, Va. (AP) Eight projects in Virginia are sharing more than $71 million in federal bonds for school construction. The no-interest bonds were established by the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act. They are available to localities for K-12 school construction, renovation and land acquisition for schools.
Gov. Tim Kaine said Thursday that the bonds are part of about $191 million authorized for Virginia through the Qualified School Construction Bonds program in 2009. The projects receiving the bonds are in Petersburg, Portsmouth, Lynchburg, Lexington, and Richmond, Fluvanna and Montgomery counties.
Allocation of the funds were made at Kaine's discretion. Later this fall, he will announce the use of the rest of the 2009 funds. Virginia expects to receive an additional $191 million from the program in 2010.
(Copyright 2009 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)
September 10, 2009 - ANNAPOLIS, Md. (AP) Twenty governors have signed a letter to support legislation in Congress to allow states to jam contraband cell phones in prisons. The bipartisan legislation would enable governors to petition the Federal Communications Commission to use wireless technology to render illegal cell phones useless in prison.
In a letter, the governors say thousands of illegal calls are made by prisoners each year, enabling them to continue their criminal enterprises from behind bars.
The bill has been approved by a Senate committee, and a full Senate vote could come this fall. The supporting governors are from Maryland, South Dakota, West Virginia, South Carolina, Kansas, Oregon, Kentucky, North Dakota, Mississippi, Iowa, Nevada, Utah, Louisiana, Illinois, Alabama, Rhode Island, New Hampshire, Connecticut, California and the U.S. Virgin Islands.
(Copyright 2009 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)
September 10, 2009 - ALEXANDRIA, Va. (AP) Metro says one of its employees who was apparently struck by a train has been hospitalized.
A preliminary report says the man was hit early Thursday between the Braddock Road and Reagan National Airport stations.
Officials say riders can expect major delays into the afternoon in both directions of the blue and yellow lines.
The two lines are divided into segments, with blue line trains moving between Franconia-Springfield and King Street and then between Largo and the airport. Yellow line trains are going between the Huntington and King Street stations, and between the Fort Totten and airport stops.
There are shuttle buses between King Street, Braddock Road and the airport.
(Copyright 2009 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)
September 10, 2009 - The Montgomery County Police Department is encouraging residents to watch a video called "Seven Signs of Terrorism.
To view the video click here and click on the "Seven Signs of Terrorism" video link towards the bottom of the page.
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