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Tuesday, March 16, 2010
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September 25, 2009 - Some teachers are questioning whether the school system did enough to help the 15-year-old boy who committed suicide on the Metro tracks last week.
Teachers say they're shocked and upset by the news of their student's suicide at the Columbia Heights Metro Station yesterday. They asked that their names not be used on the air.
One teacher who taught him in the 8th grade described him as quiet and "very very smart." She says when he moved to the 9th grade there was an incident involving "somewhat disturbing pictures" he drew. During a staff meeting, he was flagged for counseling services but she isn't sure whether he received them.
Another says when he was in the 9th grade, he was suspended for a "significant amount of time" which seemed very out of character. Teachers are also asking how he got out of the school building. Did something happen to provoke the student? How did no one notice he was gone?
A spokesperson for D.C. Public Schools says they cannot comment because it's an ongoing investigation and their crisis intervention team is working with school staff.
Kavitha Cardoza reports...
September 25, 2009 -
(Sept 26-Nov 1) FERDINAND THE BULL Adults may remember the tale of Ferdinand the Bull, whose story is playing out at Imagination Stage in Bethesda for a new generation of theater-goers, opening tomorrow and running through November 1st. This timeless story of a reluctant bull thrust into the spotlight opens the 30th anniversary of one of the D.C. area's top family theaters. Karen Zacarias, known for her adult-themed plays and a prolific D.C. region favorite, wrote the book and lyrics based on Munro Leaf's original story. The production of this charming musical version features live guitar and flamenco.
(September 26-October 24) JEFFERSON PINDER AND JOSE RUIZ G Fine Art gallery in downtown D.C. presents the work of Jefferson Pinder and Jose Ruiz, opening with a reception tomorrow night at 6:30. The show deals with the history and identity of Mexico and its people through video art and photography. Pinder and Ruiz both take shots - using gun and tequila - as they challenge the narrative of Hispanic myth and identity.
(September 26) FOR COLORED GIRLS Prince George's Community College presents For Colored Girls Who Have Considered Suicide When the Rainbow is Enuf tomorrow (Saturday) night at 7:30. This groundbreaking performance at the school's Hallam Theatre in Largo, Maryland combines dance and poetry. As students fine tune the show for an appearance on Broadway, they'll captivate audiences for one night only in a free performance of the stories of multicultural American women,
September 25, 2009 - Executives with the Science Applications International Corporation, or SAIC, cheer as a curtain is lowered and the plans for its new headquarters are unveiled.
The massive government contracting firm is moving from San Diego to Tysons Corner in Fairfax County, and it's bringing 1,200 new jobs with it.
Virginia governor Tim Kaine says SAIC is already the fourth largest private employer in the D.C. region, "but today we take it to the next level with this great announcement."
The company's executives say they want to be closer to their main client, the federal government. They also say that as a part of their move, SAIC will fund new science and math programs in Fairfax County Public Schools. "You can expect from SAIC an outreach," the company's new CEO, Walt Havenstein, says, "from kindergarten to college."
The state chipped in more than $8 million to entice SAIC to relocate to Virginia.
David Schultz reports...
September 25, 2009 - Fairfax County police and FBI agents have arrested 20 people in connection with the largest fraud investigation in the county's history.
Police say the mortgage-fraud ring involved more than 200 properties valued at more than $100 million. They say real-estate agents and mortgage brokers used straw buyers with good credit ratings and low income to fraudulently obtain loans. Properties were sold and resold within the ring.
Lee District Supervisor Jeff McKay says the investigation started when neighborhood residents noticed excessive trash and construction activity.
Those charged include real-estate agents, mortgage brokers, home contractors, home inspectors. Police say they are still looking for four more individuals who are described as at large.
Michael Pope reports...
September 25, 2009 - After pleading guilty to drunk driving and resigning his position as chief of police in Alexandria Virginia this summer, David Baker is making a quiet comeback to the city. Baker returned to Alexandria at the request of Sheriff Dana Lawhorne, who asked him to speak with inmates at the jail. Lawhorne said that Baker's speech to the inmates was intended to inspire them to make something of their lives after they're released, and he says that he hopes Baker will be the first of a monthly series of speakers to visit inmates.
Michael Pope reports...
September 25, 2009 - Congress is considering ways to help out the ailing newspaper industry. The publisher of a District-based African American newspaper is reminding lawmakers to include minority-owned publications in their plans. A bill introduced by Maryland Senator Ben Cardin would help struggling newspapers by giving them tax-exempt status.
Denise Rolark Barnes worries the bill could exclude publications like the Washington Informer. "The term ‘general circulation’ which is often used to exclude minority and ethnic newspapers, should be broadened to ensure greater opportunities for equal access to advertising revenue under the legislation."
She says different tax status might help, but ad revenue is the only thing that can save her paper. "Whether we are a for-profit or a non-profit entity, the decision-makers have to be incentivized to do business with minority and ethnic-owned media, or else, for us, there will be no end to this recession."
Across the industry, print newspaper ad revenue has fallen by twenty-five percent in the past two years.
From Capitol News Connection, Tanya Snyder reports...
September 25, 2009 - It's been another busy week in the Virginia Governor's race, and in the District a top aide to one council member is arrested on bribery charges. Washington Post columnist Robert McCartney joins WAMU's Morning Edition Host Matt McCleskey to talk about some of the region's top stories...
September 25, 2009 - Some teachers from D.C. Public Schools say they'll continue their efforts to stop Chancellor Michelle Rhee from laying off teachers. Teachers and staff held up pink signs at a protest rally, to represent the pink slips they could receive next week. The signs read "Budgeting on the Backs of Students" and "Teachers Are the Solution Not the Problem."
Rhee recently hired almost 900 new teachers but has said the layoffs were because of budget cuts and the need to move resources around. Rally organizers say they have more protests planned and aren't ruling out a hunger strike.
Kavitha Cardoza reports...
September 25, 2009 - Members of Howard University's Phi Beta Sigma Step Team performed at the opening of the Blair Underwood Health Care Center near 21st and K streets NW. The traditionally black fraternity is supporting a program through the clinic that's trying to convince more African American men to get tested for HIV. DC has the highest infection rate in the country, and African Americans make up 76% of infected people.
The clinic is named for Actor Blair Underwood. He was on hand for the opening and wanted to send a message: "I need to talk to these men, who are dating women, and think this doesn't apply to them. It does apply to them. We are dying as a people."
The clinic's services will include HIV/AIDS testing and treatment as well as free STD testing, a pharmacy, and free mobile testing units.
Sabri Ben-Achour and Kate Sheehy reports...
September 25, 2009 - Autumn is here. And with it comes a new wave of theatre productions in DC. David Furst speaks with critic Colleen Fay about some of the can't-miss shows.
September 25, 2009 - It may be another long day for Senators squabbling over health care. The Finance Committee will keep chugging through amendments to their version of the health overhaul. But members are not the only ones working long hours. Dozens of lobbyists will be nearby huddling over their laptops and blackberries.
Manuel Quinones reports...
September 25, 2009 - The chief of staff for D-C Council member Jim Graham has been arrested on bribery charges. Ted Loza is charged with accepting gifts and two cash payments, one for a thousand dollars and another for five hundred - from an unidentified person with financial interests in the taxi-cab industry. In exchange, Loza agreed to promote favorable legislation. In a brief court appearance yesterday, Loza pleaded not guilty to the charges. His boss, Ward One Councilman Jim Graham, chairs the committee the oversees the D.C. taxicab commission.
In June Graham introduced a bill to limit the amount taxi cab licenses in the city and later proposed an exemption for hybrid vehicles. Graham is not identified by name in the indictment. He says Loza told him recently about a possible FBI investigation. Graham says Loza did not influence his taxi cab legislation and denies any wrong doing. Loza has been placed on administrative leave with pay.
Patrick Madden reports...
September 25, 2009 - D.C. Delegate Eleanor Holmes Norton says it's time to talk about marriage among African-Americans with only 35 percent of black children living in two-parent households according to the latest census data. Norton says discussion has to be the first step.
Hundreds joined Norton in a conversation at the Washington Convention Center. Dozens more listened from the hallway. The session became particularly boisterous around the statistic that 40 percent of Black adults never marry.
The conversations continued after the event ended. Norton says she's hopeful more discussions will happen around the country.
Jamila Bey reports...
September 25, 2009 - A high ranking official of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency believes the Chesapeake Bay cleanup efforts could be a model for restoration efforts nationwide. Acting Deputy Administrator and General Counsel Scott Fulton says the development of a bay cleanup strategy is worth watching as a sign of new approaches that could be applied to water quality management around the country. President Obama ordered the agency to come up with the strategy. The EPA official also noted at an American Bar Association meeting in Baltimore the impact of pollution from suburban and urban areas, as well as from farms. Fulton says urban and suburban runoff pollution is the fastest growing source of bay pollution, and that it may be the most significant.
Bill Redlin reports...
September 25, 2009 - People driving on the Capital Beltway overnight could run into some road closures near Tysons Corner in Virginia.
Motorists on the Capital Beltway near Chain Bridge Road can expect to run into two left lane closures starting at 10:30 tonight. Between midnight and 5 a.m., all lanes in that area will be shut down several times for up to 30 minutes. The ramps to and from Chain Bridge Road will also be closed.
The Virginia Department of Transportation says the closure will allow Dominion Virginia Power to continue its work relocating overhead power lines for the Dulles Metro rail project.
Natalie Neumann reports...
September 25, 2009 - The lack of reliable fire hydrants continues to hamper firefighting efforts in D.C.
When fire fighters arrived on the scene to put out the fire at Peggy Cooper Cafritz's mansion on Chain Bridge road it took them about 50 minutes to find fire hydrants that could provide enough water.
The Cafritz fire and several other high-profile fires in the past two years have underscored the lack of coordination between the fire department and the D.C. Water and Sewer Authority to identify the city's working fire hydrants.
Nearly three quarters of the District's 9,000 fire hydrants have not been tested for water flow, according WASA. D.C. Coucilwoman Mary Cheh says its time the mayor appoint someone to make sure the fire department and WASA work together to ensure adequate water supply throughout the city.
"It seems to me that part of the problem is the fact that these two agencies are each able to say, 'no it's your fault,'" says Cheh. "We need someone to take control and make sure we have a comprehensive plan."
WASA says it will take five years to test all of the city's hydrants.
Patrick Madden reports...
September 25, 2009 - This week in Congress, senate Republicans spelled out rejections and introduced amendments in the Senate Finance Committee health care reform markup, and political contributions have arrived on the Hill.
Elizabeth Wynne Johnson reports...
September 25, 2009 - About a dozen students from D.C.'s Woodrow Wilson High School are helping out backstage at the Fashion Fights Poverty Show at the Mayflower Hotel tonight.
Jady Hwong is a junior and is helping a model with her outfit. She says it's a practical extension of her clothing and textiles class, the only one of it's kind in D.C. Public Schools.
Hannah Quinn, a senior, is ironing another model's clothes. She says she loves writing about fashion and this is an opportunity to see what really goes on backstage.
Laura Williams who teaches the class, is a designer herself. She tells her students fashion isn't just about high heels and glamour; they also need to know a lot of math.
In class, students sew their own clothes, produce an online fashion newspaper and travel to New York for shows.
Kavitha Cardoza reports...
Hannah Quinn, a senior at Woodrow Wilson High School, irons one model's clothes backstage.
Courtesy of: Kavitha Cardoza
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